#its only 15 pages and i had to print everything from home BUT not too bad i suppose!!!

[actualjenna]

some pages from my comic HELLO, SOUPHEAD. which will be sold at the Massachusetts Independent Comic Expo this weekend!! if you have the chance to go, perhaps pick up a copy! if not, i might release it online sometime soon 👁

[dystopia-fantasy]

Always read the job description -Part 1

Max was a fit, well built man. He had been body building since he was 14 and now In his early 40s he has the body of a god, but is slowly getting to the age when he needs to find another way to make money. He knows he can't take part in his competitions anymore, and needs to take it easy. He got great grades in school and college, proving people wrong that you can't be a nerd in a jock body.

Max had some money saved and was able to keep up on bills for a few months but needed a job to keep his large house, in the rich area of the city. He got a call from a business he applied to a couple of days ago, telling him to go in for an interview tomorrow, and if it goes well he will be sent straight on a trip for the company. He gets his new blue suit ready to be worn the next day.

The morning arrives, it's 5am, and Max wakes. He does his normal morning routine, making breakfast, working out, taking a shower, then gets his suit on ready for his early morning interview. Driving to the office building in the middle of New York, it's at least 50 stories high, and is made of mostly glass, and is one of the newest modern builds in the city.

On arrival a large man in his late 60s wearing a suit greets him, "hello sir, you must be max, Sir Mammon is on his way down to collect you, may I say what an amazing suit you have on today".

Max looks the man up and down, seeing the man's huge belly flowing out from under his dress shirt, showing a massive W shape, "thanks mate, you might want a bigger shirt" then points to his belly.

"sorry if I offended you sir, but all clothing has been chosen by Sir Mammon himself" Mammon is the big boss of the business "if you would like to make a complaint I can print you a form".

Max laughs, "No thanks, I'm gonna sit over there, tell Mammon im there".

"will do sir, have a great day" the man says while max walks away paying no more attention to him.

About 15 minutes later a young handsome slender man walks over. "Max is it?" He says behind Max.

"yes.." max says confused.

"I'm Mammon, nice to meet you" he smiles holding his hand out for a shake.

"oh hello Mammon, is wasn't expecting someone so young, no offence of course" max shaking his hand.

Mammon let's out a little laugh, with a little grin "it's ok max, people don't expect someone like me to own such a remarkable company like this one would you like to follow me, we can go up to my office, this is Mark by the way, he's my Butler". Mark is another large man aged around 50, he has a massive belly stuffed into his suit, hes huffing and puffing, like he ran a marithon, "don't mind him, most of my staff are..."

Max cuts him off "fat?"

They both laugh, "you could say that Max" the elevator arrives and they all walk in, "now max, you did read the whole advertisement correct?".

Max didn't, it's was 48 pages long, who would read it all? He just looked at the wage he would get, it started at $100,000 per month. "Yes, I did".

"that's good, most guys are more keen to keep their body's but I guess if your struggling you'll do anything."

Max now confused just nod's and watches though the glass elevator as they fly up to the top floor.

"where here sir" Mark the butler says peacefully in his British accent.

They walk into the room, and Mammon sits at his desk pouring himself a glass of wisky, and Max one too. Max looks around in aww, the room was covered in art work, with the walls painted in golds and whites and had its own bar. "How do you have all this money?" Max asked.

"a mix of many things, this company, and a few investments paid for this whole building, I have many other ways but we're not here for that." Mammon points at the seat," take a seat max" Max sits the chair is made from leather and is very comfy. "So, max, I've gone through your file, I think you're perfect for the job."

"so, does that mean I have the job?" Max replies confused, expecting to be asked a question.

"well yes, if you agree to the terms"

"terms?" Max still confused.

"well yes, you expect to be paid 10times the amount the normal person for this job without any terms or conditions?"

"well I didn't know.." Max gets cut off.

"Max let me simplify them for you. You sacrifice your body to the company, and in trade you get, $100k X the amount you weigh paid into your account per month, So if you weigh 450lbs, you get $450k a month."

"what the fuck? That's sick, I'm not doing that, I'm leaving" and with that Max got up from the chair and stood face to face with Mammon, with the desk all that is separating them. "Your sick, you fa**ot".

With that Mammon's eyes glow a bright red. "I'm a what?" Max got through back against the chair by an invisible force. "Max you could have just left with your freedom, but now look what you've gotten yourself into".

"Let me go, What the fuck?" Max says while traped against that chair, it chreeking with the force of his muscle.

"I'm a fucking demon max, I'm never going to 'let you go'" he took a second break to mock max, "now, what did you say? Fa**ot, was it?".

"fuck, I didn't mean it" the force pins him down harder, trapping his arms against the leather chair arms, and pushing his legs against the underboard. "Please let me go home, I won't do it again."

"shut up max, the process is already starting".

Max looks down to see his body deflating, his pecs turning from mountain peaks to a flat surface, his giant powerful arms turning weak and light. And then looking up he sees a whole new man infront of him.

"Not as big as I thought I would get, but boy I'm big" he took a break to admire his new giant arms and pecs.

"what the?" Max looks in confusion, "how did you do that? Give me them back".

"what are you gonna do max? I'm an infinitely powerful being and you, your an old man, or at least your going to be."

"I'm only 42, what do you mean, going to be?"

"you see I don't have my infinite life span on earth, so to stay alive and in this fit body, I absorb anything a guy has and I want. In your case, these massive muscles, but then I need to absorb their life force as well, in order to make sure I don't age."

"what do you mean life force?"

"well, you have roughly 50 years, worth of life left, I'll drain about 20 years leaving you in your future crippled body at around age 60, force you to work for the company for another 20 years, then when your 80 drain the rest of your life, which after you get fat won't be much, then you got to hell."

"man your sick, let me go, LET ME GO!".

A bright red light shoots from Peters hand enveloping Max's whole body, and he starts to age, his face wrinkling, skin dropping, eye sight worsening, hearing getting muffled, and mind changing a little. "Max, you ok old man?".

"yes sir" max was confused in his mind, why did he say sir?

"max, you ready for your Cruise? You can have tones of food for the next 6 months."

"Yes sir, I'm ready" max lifts his head, opening his eyes to see a new blurry room from his new old eyes.

"you're gonna need these from now on" Peters eyes glow and a new pair of glasses appear on Max's face he can now see clear.

"thank you... Sir", max blinks seeing Peter infront of him, "what have you, done to me".

"Max, I've turned you into the perfect office worker, old, brainiac, who is soon going to get fat and live the rest of his life, in an office chair for me, don't worry for accomodation you live here now, we have apartments on floor 30 to 40, all workers live here, it's policy, we have also sent a team to your house to, well, blow it up, that way nobody is going to be looking for you, becuase we can plant a body"

"give me... My.... Body back, give me... My.. life back."

"Max we both know that will never happen, now enjoy a life of gluttony, and prepare yourself for hell, that's gonna be worse then anything I can do to you." Peter snaped his fingers and a red glow enveloped max.

Recovering from the glow max sees two men infront of him with a trolly of sorts between them. "Is he awake" one says,

"I don't know" said the other.

"im- awake" max said in a much older raspy voice.

"good we can now start the feeding" the man on the left said, his body as muscled as a god, ripped from head to toe, and we can see everything.

Max rubs his eyes under his glasses and opens them again, "Fucking hell, put some clothes on both of you".

Both men where nude, one a ripped god, another muscled up but with a big gut. "Clothes are banned here mate" the beefy man said in a type of Australia accent, "you cant say much fella, look at that tiny pecker".

The men laughed pointing at Max's shriveled up old cock and low hanging balls, "what the fuck"max tries to move his arm to cover him but his arm doesn't move, he looks down to see him stuck in a chair, with a cut out hole under his ass, and straps tying him down, trapping him. "What... Are you gonna do to me?" Max asked sceared.

The men laughed at him again, "no need to act to sceared, we're here to feed you for the next 6 months".

"but... Sir said..." Max get cut off.

"he said you'd be going on a cruise? Fucking hell are you dumb? He's a demon, you shouldn't trust a demon" The muscled guy says.

"bro let's start the feeding we have 50 other guys to see and I wanna watch football Tonight." The beefy guys says, and in unison both their eyes glowed a bright red, showing they where demons too.

The trolly between them had several items on top, one long tube, which floated in the air for a few moments before shoving itself down maxes nostril and deep into his stomach, his head flipped back trying to wriggle it out, but it was stuck. Another item moved into his frame, a IV bag holder, holding a giant barrel type object made of glass, and two large bags floated of the table again and started to drain into the barrel, and the tube connected itself to it, starting a flow of the liquid into maxes stomach.

"done" the beffy guy said. "Now we'll be back tomorrow to refill your barrel, and clean you up if you make a mess, but youll basically be unconscious for the next 6 months, due to the drugs were feeding you."

"so enjoy your sleep mate, you'll litterally wake up a different man." The two men laughed and walked out, max tried fighting the restraints but in his crippled form could do nothing. The door slammed and locked, and the room fell dark, max screamed begging into the darkness to be let free, and to have his life back, which he had only an hour before, but nothing happened, nobody came. He felt the drugs taking effect, but tried to fight back, but it was useless, his body slumped and loosened. His mind fell blank as he drifted of into his 6 month hibernation.

[theexecutionerssong]

SKAM FRANCE BTS MASTERPOST

This is a master post of BTS anecdotes told in interviews, at cons, screenings and on social media. Don’t click the read more if you don’t want to lose some of the magic. I know sometimes knowing too much of how a show was shot can ruin it. Also, it’s very obvious that there was more promo starting around season 3 than for the first two seasons, don’t hold it against me. Feel free to message me if you think of something else as I must have forgotten a ton of things.

CASTING, REHEARSALS, BTS IN GENERAL

Skam France had the rights for the 4 seasons first but had to follow the original script almost to a T for the first 2 and if the audience was big enough then they would be allowed to distance themselves from OG

Skam France casted actors that were as close personality wise to their characters as possible, which made it easier for the cast to identify with their characters and made the friendships developping between the characters more believable since it was also developping off screen

They were not allowed to cast underaged actors who would have been closer to the real age of the characters due to the long hours of the shooting conditions

Most of the actors come from theatre and many had no or little previous experience with shooting for a camera before

The cast isn’t allowed to watch the clips before they air.

Most of the clothes they wear in the show are their own.

During rehearsals of the first seasons, Philippine went to the board with everyone’s names on it and wrote something funny next to Zoe’s name and wanted to send it to her but she messed up and published it on her ig stories, leaking the entire cast when it was still supposed to be a secret.

Lula’s first reaction when she got the script and “met” Daphné was “oh no I’m scared. I just want to slap her, she’s insufferable”

Assa almost didn’t audition for two reasons: the casting call didn’t specify they were looking for a woman of color and French casting calls almost always say whether they are specifically looking for a black woman. If it says nothing then they are usually looking for a white person. She thought she had no chance because of that. Second reason, after accepting the casting call, she did some research and found out OG Sana was from the Maghreb and she’s not. But her agent convinced her to go through with it, the only thing the skam france team wouldn’t negotiate was that they wanted a Muslim actress. There was no way they would have casted a non muslim actress/actor for Imane and Sofiane.

Skam France was the first TV show on French TV to have a black muslim  woman wearing a hijab as a main character

Paul, Robin and Axel knew each other before shooting, they’d met in Avignon.

Coline was still in her last year of high school when she shot the first two seasons.

Niels is the one who came up with a raccoon as Eliott’s spirit animal

They shoot about 15 minutes of usable content per day which is impressive (it’s usually 2-3 for movies released in theatres, 5-7 for TV programs)

When France TV told David the first two seasons were a success and they were renewing the show, he gave them a list of things he wanted to change so that he’d agree to come back to direct the next seasons, including a different camera, renewing the writers team (they included Niels), storylines, the ig content, etc. The new camera they got was a SONY Venice which allows them to play a lot with the focus/blur ratio and the cold and warm undertones, which made a major shift in the visual quality of seasons 3 and 4 compared to the previous 2.

David named Eliott after his son.

Having the teaser from Eliott’s POV was David’s idea. It’s the first remake to have a clip from the French Even’s POV

The bus stop from season 3 is fake, it doesn’t exist. It wasn’t even shot in Paris itself but in Saint Ouen.

Maxence didn’t watch OG - besides the towels in the bathroom clip - because he wanted to create his own Eliott without being too influenced, and he didn’t watch s1 and 2 of skam france either because he wanted Eliott to discover the characters without knowing their backgrounds.

Maxence wasn’t supposed to audition. He wanted to be done with his acting school before shooting anything but the head of the casting team came to watch a public class at his school and asked him to audition for Eliott at the end. David and Niels knew right away he was the one. Niels watched the audition tapes and was very impressed with another actor but within the first 3 seconds of watching Maxence, he knew it wouldn’t be anyone else. Maxence met Axel after the 3rd call back and they clicked right away. He’d broken his foot two days earlier so he was in crutches. They watched Even’s manic episode and had to improvise a similar scene but had to do with the crutches. They also went for a drink before shooting and they talked for hours, their connection was instantaneous. 

When he learned Maxence was cast, Axel went on his instagram and saw the model pictures and thought he was way too hot with the abs and everything and he himself would look like a potato during the nude scenes next to him. So he got a coach and for 3 months he trained and got on a very strict diet. He was disappointed that there were no shots where you could actually see his abs properly in Skam. He had also said months before that he had gotten a coach because before they started shooting seasons 3 and 4, he had met up with Marilyn to get advice on how to carry a season and she had told him to get a coach otherwise he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the pace. So what is the truth?

It leaked that Maxence was casted in July 2018 because someone on a Korean website recognized his shoes in an IG story from when he’d been spotted at the airport months earlier but it was kept mostly under wraps. Then his and Lais’s names leaked too a couple of months later but most people hadn’t seen his face before the trailer.

David asked Axel and Maxence to give up their phones and social media during the couple of months they were shooting to be really focused and not get distracted by the outside world and they mostly did. Axel bought an mp3 to still have music, he wrote “LUCAS ♥” on it with a white out pen. He created a playlist for Lucas, including songs like Run Boy Run and I love you by Woodkid, and To Build a Home by the Cinematic Orchestra.

Maxence’s process to get ready for a shot: he does yoga and dances a lot in the morning. he puts music on and paces a room while picturing himself standing on the edge of a cliff and if at some point he feels like falling and loses his balance, it means he’s got it. He asks that all the scripts he gets be printed on the right side of the page and on the left he takes notes about what the character is feeling through 7 different states: love, hate, fear, power, vulnerability, sex and i hate myself for not remembering the last one. To play a scene properly, you have to conjure up 4 states to create one emotion. He loves that David respects his method and is able to adapt to every member of the cast’s method. He also uses his body as a tool, for example if his character has to feel lonely or unsure, he will curl up into a ball for an hour without moving and then he’ll be in the right mindset because his body is telling him he’s isolated. That’s the method he used for Eliott, he created “lost scenes” that weren’t in the script, moments in between scenes with Lucas, to get more into Eliott’s mindset.

Maxence wrote a letter to Eliott, drew a picture of him, and spent hours adding notes to the script about his personality before even trying to get into his mind. 

There was a contest for the drawings in season 3. Maxence participated but didn’t get picked. Jeanne Lelièvre did!

All the social media content for seasons 3 and 4 were shot on the same day in December 2018 which is why you can see heavy winter clothing even when the content was published in May. For season 3, most ideas were Axel’s, and Maxence said no to 90%. 

While shooting for seasons 3 and 4, Axel was also on stage every night for theatre

To prepare for his role in s3, Axel watched CMBYN, Moonlight, and The Office 

They received more feedbacks from international fans than French ones at first. It was even a private joke between Niels and David, there were no comments in French on Youtube. Then the piano clip happened and David’s phone went crazy with notifications. He was in the editing room with Jérémy and the buzzing from his phone was non stop. They banned phones in the editing room after that.

Skam France owes part of its popularity to how accessible the cast and crew are, either on social media or IRL, with 6 entirely free events organized to get the fans and the cast and crew to meet, watch episodes together and have Q&As during seasons 3 and 4.

Skam France shooting locations have become extremely popular for the fans to hang out at and leave little mementos, to the point that the mayor of Paris has asked the team to pick completely untraceable locations, or make sure they are not in Paris itself for the next seasons

Skam France was the first remake to get renewed for 2 (possibly 4?) original seasons

Alexia and Daphné were supposed to have their own seasons they but couldn’t get the green light from Norway. He got the idea for Arthur’s story quite quickly after but they had to rework the scripts for seasons 5 and 6 a lot. Robin talked to David about his addiction to video games and how it could be a potential theme but in the end David chose deafness instead.

SEASONS 1 AND 2

It was Coline’s idea to make Alexia bi. There was a scene when Alexia mentions an ex boyfriend and she asked David “why wouldn’t it be a girl?” and his only reaction was “Ok. What’s her name?” and that’s how bi!Alexia was born.

It was also Coline’s idea to give Alexia’s colorful hair. She later regretted it because she had to bleach her hair twice to get the blue to stay and it fried her hair.

Assa’s worst memory of shooting s1 and 2 is when the girls have to carry Daphné, she kept dropping her and was afraid of hurting her.

Marilyn and Lula ruined the scene when the girls are having breakfast all together when they are on the countryside because they couldn’t stop laughing over carrots and the crunchy noise it was making. It was the last day of shooting and their nerves were all over the place.

SEASON 3

The first scene in the common room didn’t hit them that much, they didn’t realize the impact it would have because the whole shooting was just David yelling at them to look at each other then stop then do it again then stop etc

Nobody realized how big of an impact the “Moi c’est Eliott” line would have and then when they watched the clip, it was obvious.

The check de gang wasn’t scripted, it was Paul’s idea to make it a running gag. David wasn’t sure about it but after doing it just once, he was sold. Basile tripping over the bench was also Paul’s idea but he didn’t warn anyone he was doing it so Xavier started laughing and the camera was shaking so bad that they couldn’t keep it and had to reshoot the scene. They noticed during the editing process that Robin also tripped at the same time in the background during one take so they had to keep that one. 

Lucas playing the piano was Axel’s idea even though he didn’t know how to play properly. He sent a text to David at the end of June with different ideas for songs and David picked the most difficult one. He then practiced anytime he could until they shot the scene in october. It took him two months to learn it completely and then a little more to make it look easy.  (Niels later said it was his idea and that Axel was a cheeky little shit). Maxence had never heard Axel play the song before that moment so Eliott’s reaction is genuine. He didn’t think he’d manage to get in the right state of mind because the apartment was too small for the whole team and they were all very cranky, it was 3 am, but the moment he heard the first notes, he forgot all about it and was completely amazed.

The infiltration party: David asked that Basile pushes Daphné a bit, like shoves her out of the way when they have to run, but they hadn’t had the time to rehearse anything. After a couple of takes, Paul pushed Lula a bit too hard and she fell on her knees quite hard. He felt so bad because he never wanted to hurt her and they all had to take a half an hour break because her knees hurt. David after that was like OKAY NO MORE STUNTS EVER.

Axel got mad at the makeup department because the two lines on his face were not on the same place when they shot the outside scene and then once inside. He got so angry he could have cried that they wouldn’t believe him. So during the shooting he looked straight at the camera and wiped them away with the back of his hand to force them to draw the lines properly.

The first kiss scene: they had been shooting for 12 hours. It was raining intermittently all day so the team had to pack up the cameras often and wait it out when it was too much. They ran 4 hours late. They had a fake rain machine but no change of clothes so they could only shoot once. Below the bridge is not easily accessible, it’s a long path from the gate, so they used ropes to get things up and down from the bridge. They only had one shot. They had already shot kissing scenes but David was always telling them it had to be more passionate and kept yelling at them to use more tongue so for that shot they gave it their everything on the first (and only) take they did. 5 minutes later they were shooting the Remember scene.

They shot all the scenes in the colloc on the first week of shooting. Minute by minute was shot right before Samedi 9h17. They had to restart shooting samedi 9h17 four times because something wasn’t working between Axel and Maxence, they were clumsy and stressed. After taking 5 minutes to themselves with David to remind themselves of how pivotal the scene was, Axel and Maxence said they were ready and they shot the opening scene that made the cut.

The Phase de latence clip : Axel and Maxence felt like terrible actors because they had already shot all the big very emotional scenes and this was a bit tamer since Eliott doesn’t show much emotions. They felt that way about all the scenes shot in the school.

The Fête de trop clip: They shot the fight with the guys 8 times but it wasn’t enough for David until Robin slapped Axel on the 9th. After that they shot Chloé yelling at Lucas. Axel was still out of it due to the slap he’d gotten earlier that he hadn’t expected. At 3am, they finished with Lucas injuring his hands. Axel cracked the metacarpus in his hand and only told David two days later.

Leo has talked about the coming out bench scene and said Yann took it a bit too far and was too dramatic, he was like “i don’t know if i can say that… but c’mon… I mean. C’mon… that’s your best friend… who cares if he didn’t tell you right away, he had bigger problems on his mind, right?”He would have done it differently.

The “viens on n’en parle pas” scene was shot in 50 minutes in the middle of the night on the second day of shooting. Marilyn and Axel’s emotions were briming under the surface so it was one of the easiest scene to shoot.

The hardest scene to shoot for David in s3 was the intervention clip. It was the second day of shooting, the 4th clip of the day. Axel’s first take was not good enough and David was scared it would set the tone for the season. He had a stern talk with Axel. Thankfully, they shot a second time and it was the right one, everyone on set was crying and Axel was completely drained.  

The scene where they go get the couch from the creepy place is the one they shot last for season 3.

The paint scene: they only had one try. Axel and Maxence hadn’t shot together for a week, David had done it on purpose and they’d missed each other. It was shot on a Friday at the exact time it was supposed to happen IRL. The whole thing lasts 14 minutes long. David took their pants off because they were slipping too much. Xavier almost stopped filming he was like “is he serious? did he just take their pants off??”. They shot a part when one of them slips on the ground and the other follows but that didn’t make the cut. There were 25 people on set, everyone in a suit to protect from the paint, but Axel and Maxence forgot everyone and just got lost in their characters. When David yelled cut, Axel and Maxence didn’t hear him and kept making out. David had to separate them. Then they all were so happy that they yelled their joy but then saw all the people who were behind the camera, and everyone was crying, like they had witnessed something too intimate. They showered for an hour, emptied 2 bottles of soap and even then it wasn’t enough, Axel still had paint running down his neck at a party that evening. The music used on set was Dreamer, the Khlar remix. Maxence was upset it wasn’t the one they ended up using in the clip, it felt like a betrayal because it “wasn’t the song they had made love to”.

Maxence fought with the costume department over the briefs he was wearing in the paint scene, because they had shot the PONI scene first and he could remember which ones he was wearing for the PONI scene and he wanted to wear the same ones. He was sure people would notice.

The first scene Maxence ever shot was the PONI scene. 

The boat scene was quite special. It was a big moment for Maxence, he was extremely nervous, so David reduced the team on set as much as he could. Maxence got upset at Axel for being too present during the scene. Being used to a theatre stage, Axel is always a bit over the top, eating his ham with a flourish, stuff like that, but this was supposed to be Eliott’s big scene. Maxence asked for a break and told David that if Axel didn’t tone it down, he’d kill him. That also got resolved quickly. 

The Remember Me scene: the priest is Lula’s dad. Lula and Niels both make a cameo in the church. They forgot to warn Axel that a car was coming when he’s running so his reaction is genuine. He was running so fast, the minivan with the camera couldn’t keep up so they shot it twice. They shot Lucas finding Eliott under the bridge just after shooting the first kiss. Maxence only had 4 minutes to get into the right state of mind which was extremely challenging and during that time he had to change his clothes, dry his hair and redo his makeup. Axel wasn’t feeling very well, he was exhausted after having shot 4 clips that day, but David told him he could do it so he ran on the path to the bridge harder than ever (David thought he was going to hurt his sinews) and when he fell to his knees, he was close to passing out, you can actually hear when he says the first “t’es pas tout seul” that he’s about to throw up / can’t breathe properly. They only shot that part once and after it was done David told them they should hug each other because what they had just done with Lucas and Eliott was precious and a moment to remember.  

There was supposed to be a scene after the Remember scene but it was cut. Eliott is sleeping, Lucas brings him food and starts reading his book and then Eliott wakes up. They say hi, Eliott is confused about the time it is, it’s already late afternoon. He says he needs to leave, but Lucas tells him no. He keeps saying he has to go, he has to go to his parents. Lucas tells him it’s fine, they’ve been warned of where he is. But he says he’s got to leave anyway. Lucas asks him why he keeps insisting he needs to leave and Eliott tells him he just doesn’t want Lucas to see him like this. Lucas tells him he doesn’t mind. Then he starts teasing him, saying Eliott just wants to leave because he doesn’t want to own up to the fact that he lied to him. Eliott is confused. Lucas reminds him that he’d said there was no way he would ever be able to sleep next to a guy that hot (on the boat) and yet here they are actually taking naps. So Eliott must have lied to Lucas about finding him hot. Eliott says he’s an idiot and Lucas tells him that at least he’s not a liar at that what matters is that he is his idiot. “Congrats, you’re now the owner of an idiot… more or less hot” Eliott tells him he’s won and asks what they should do now. Lucas answers that they should start by saying hi properly and they kiss, and when they pull back they just look at each other whispering “salut”. Axel said he was upset at David for cutting the scene because it was so soft and intimate, he called him when he watched the episode to ask why he cut it, but it would have been too repetitive with the following Lundi 17h21 clip.

Lundi 17h21 is the second clip Maxence shot. Lucas’s “T’es beau quand tu rigoles” wasn’t scripted, Axel changed the script, he was supposed to say something about liking seeing Eliott smile.

The Je t’aime scene: the first shot they did was the most emotional one, it was one of the hardest scenes emotionally for Axel. He was crying so so much, he had tears and snot everywhere, and Maxence was just wiping it away so tenderly that David thought about keeping that shot but the snot was REALLY disgusting so they didn’t keep it. They shot it a few more times, except that then Maxence had to leave. So the shot of Lucas saying Moi aussi is actually to David. Axel said it didn’t feel weird because he does love David so it felt true.

SEASON 4

Assa sat down with the team before they wrote anything for the season and told them her whole life story. It lasted 4 hours and she cried when reading the script because they had included so many things she had told them, it felt like her and Imane were one.

Making Assa dance was Philippine’s idea. David asked her what she thought about when thinking of Assa, something that was really her and Philippine said “Dada, you should see her dance”

Moussa and Assa knew each other before since they had filmed together 5 years prior, a movie in which they already were siblings. They feel like siblings in real life.

The worst clip to shoot was on Lais’s first day of shooting, it was the bus clip. The shooting conditions were terrible, there was too much noise, and the crew was tired from having shot the 3 bus stop clips from season 3 earlier that day. David was convinced there would be nothing to save and they would have to rent another bus but the team worked their magic in post prod and it turned out amazing.

They shot the scene with Imane, Lucas and Eliott in class the day after Halloween. Maxence was at a party the night before and lost track of time. He had to take a taxi straight from the party to the set at 6am and showed up in full zombie costume and makeup.

Charles come back: it had been cloudy and raining all day but the moment the camera was on the girls’ faces, a ray of sunlight appeared and the wind blew in their hair, making it a real dramatic moment. Too good to pass on, it’s the shot they kept.

The fight between Lucas and Eliott that we vaguely hear in the background was just gibberish. Axel and Maxence hadn’t prepared anything and Axel just ended up shouting at Maxence things like YOU LIED TO ME BEFORE ABOUT LUCILLE YOU MIGHT BE DOING IT AGAIN ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE and Maxence NO I WOULD NEVER - BUT YOU DID - NO I WOULDN’T - YES YOU DID - NO and they kept going in circles so David was like “guys…. please, you might want to start screaming about something else or this is gonna sound very repetitive” but in the end we can barely hear anything so it didn’t matter much

When Alex comes to pick up Emma to go to the cinema, Assa had a break down and couldn’t stop laughing, hiding under a blanket and making all the girls laugh too with her. David had to scold them a bit to get them to stop.

Lais also ruined a clip by laughing for 15 minutes straight, it’s the clip at Imane’s house when they talk about the fair. It was the longest 15 minutes of the crew’s life. 

The oui oui song during Daphné’s birthday party wasn’t planned, the team just lost control of the cast. Axel started it and everyone followed. The cast are actually terrible extras. They are too dramatic and noticeable in the background so party scenes like Daphné’s birthday were a nightmare to shoot. 

Assa and Laïs rehearsed the Unknown dance clip every chance they got between every take, everyone kept tripping on them in the corridors.

The last sequences they filmed were actually the last clips at Imane’s house for the Eïd. Axel isn’t in the last shot because he had to leave for his play. He actually ruined the very last clip of season 4 by shouting his goodbyes to David from across the corner.

SEASON 5

The auditions for season 5 and 6 were held in June. Lucas was spotted through his youtube channel and asked to audition. 

Coline learned sign language by herself after an initiation class with the whole team. She started signing in July and has been practicing ever since. Robin took a one week class in September and then kept practicing by himself and with the D/deaf people on set. David and the rest of the team also took an initiation class.

Robin doesn’t like water and was anxious about the scenes in the pool. David got in the water with Xavier, Robin and Winona to reassure him and direct them better. They limited the number of extras around the pool because of that.

The place where Eliott works is where David used to work when he was younger.

Coline wrote a song for the season

They couldn’t leave the mural in the high school so they took it off the wall (it wasn’t actually painted on the wall itself) and cut it into pieces. There are a few pieces framed on the walls of Lucas and Eliott’s flat.

[shining-red-diamond]

Shallow Waters (Part 1)

Words: 2.5k

Pairing: Hendery x Brittany (OC)

Rating: PG-15

Genre: fluff, some angst

Warnings: mentions of abandonment, illness, and 

A/N: Banner credits to @dearyongs

Summary: When Brittany met a merman named Hendery, little did she know her life was going to change. Not only do they fall in love, learn about each other’s worlds, and create a life for themselves; but there’s also a mystery surrounding Hendery that could potentially put both of their lives in danger.

-

Sipping on her strawberry lemonade, Brittany was zoned into her book. The summer sun brightened up the beach in her backyard, a gentle breeze kept the weather cool, and she was relaxed on her lounge chair on her porch. Brittany hummed a tune as she read, a habit she had ever since she was young. In her mind, it was offered as background music whenever she read one of her books.

Little did she know that her voice had caught the attention of a certain inhabitant of the ocean. Hendery had seen her and wanted to talk to Brittany since she moved to an isolated area in the Florida Keys about six months earlier. Multiple humans had come and gone to where he roamed, but something about Brittany reeled him as if she were a magnet for him. He was a little on the shy side, but he had finally worked up the courage to talk to her. Explaining that he was a merman would be difficult, but he hoped she would understand.

As soon as she had walked inside of her house with the empty glass in her hand, Hendery took advantage of her distraction to sneak onto her porch. He was intending on standing there to wait for her until he noticed the book she was reading. The cover had gold lettering centered at the top, and an elaborate picture of a human boy in round glasses trying to catch a small, spherical object while riding some sort of flying object was printed under the lettering. Hendery couldn’t read human writing, but from the cover he could tell it was an adventurous story. He quickly flipped through pages, but there were mostly words. Only a few pictures showed up on certain pages.

As soon as Brittany returned outside, she immediately jumped at the sight of a strange, young man with jet black hair standing on her porch and flipping through her book. The shock caused her to nearly drop her drink.

“Who are you?” she asked him, keeping a distance in her startled state. “What do you want?”

Hendery tried to speak, but he didn’t know how to speak human either. He’d picked up a few words here and there, but all he could do was make little squeals and dolphin sounds and use his body to explain what he was thinking. The only thing he could get out was his name.

“H-Hendery,” he introduced himself as he pointed at himself.

“Is that your name?” Brittany asked, and he nodded. “I’m Brittany.”

“Brittany,” Hendery repeated with a smile.

She noticed the book in his hands. “Oh, do you like Harry Potter? I’m rereading the series.”

“Can’t read.”

“Oh…” she paused before changing the subject. “May I ask where you came from?”

Hendery pointed to the ocean, but Brittany just chuckled. “Very funny.”

He used his body language to insist that he was from the ocean, and by the look of sincerity on his face Brittany could tell that he wasn’t joking.

“Oh, are you a sailor?” she raised an eyebrow. Hendery shook his head.

He then took the book out of her hands, set it on one of the lounge chairs and had her follow him to the beach.

“Dude, where are we going?”

Once her toes were touching the edge of the shoreline, Hendery stripped his shirt and shorts off before instructing her, “Wait.” Before she could say anything, he was dashing to the water before Olympic-style diving into the ocean. An iridescent glow where Hendery dove nearly blinded Brittany for a second before he dolphin-jumped out of the water again. A flash of purple where his legs should be had sparkled in the sunlight.

Brittany couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

A merman? A real merman?

She shut her eyes and pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. When she opened them, Hendery was sitting there on the beach, staring at her with confusion on his face.

Brittany could see his tail much clearer now. It was scaly, and each one was a beautiful purple and gold monochrome that also turned black in some angles. They faded into skin where the bases of his hips were.

“There’s no way this is real right now,” Brittany chuckled. “I must have hit my head. I’m dreaming.”

Hendery shook his head, and whispered, “Real.”

If she had already pinched herself once, she did it again but without this man knowing.

When she accepted that she wasn’t dreaming, she knelt down and asked, “May I touch them?”

Hendery had never been touched by a human much less any female creature. He hesitated a little, but he obliged. Taking her hand, he set to where he figured his shins would be.

“Gentle,” he begged.

“I will,” she promised.

Her fingertips carefully stroked his tail up and down, and the scales were smooth as a marble slab table with the exception of the gaps lining each one.

“Mermaids are real,” she whispered to herself.

“Yes,” Hendery replied.

Brittany faced him and promised, “I’ll keep it a secret if you want me to.”

“Please.”

“Okay. Can you turn human again? I can get you a towel to dry off with and something to eat if you’re hungry.”

Hendery nodded.

“I’ll be right back,” she said before rushing back into her house.

Lying there on his side, he watched as her slender legs carried her when she ran. Every inch of her was sketched into his brain: her flaming red hair, her eyes the color of the sea, and an hourglass figure like a mermaid’s. Hender was an observer, and as much as he watched her from afar some days, Brittany seemed like a kind person just from her actions. If she really was the most beautiful woman in the world to him, then it was definitely coming from her heart.

Brittany soon returned with a towel and his clothes that were abandoned on the beach, and he sat up a bit straighter. She helped him scoot away from the water to dry off properly. Hendery pat himself down, as he had done many times before with any absorbent cloth, and within a few seconds his tail split in a vertical line so delicately as clay being sliced in half with an invisible knife. His tail and scales melted into legs and feet, but Brittany quickly handed him his clothes before she saw too much.

“Thanks,” he smiled as she turned away to give him privacy as he dressed himself.

After Hendery was fully clothed, Brittany turned back around and asked him, “Would you like to come inside?”

“Inside?” he repeated.

“The house. I’m getting hungry, so I want to eat something for lunch.”

“Food?” Hendery’s eyes lit up as he smiled, showing off his sharp teeth.

Brittany nodded. She had heard of some merfolk having such sharp teeth, but her new friend’s teeth were like sharks. They nearly startled her as it was such a shock for her to see.

She breathed deeply to calm down. “What do you like?” she asked him as she guided him to her back porch.

“Fish.”

“Well, you’re in luck,” she smiled as she opened the door. “I’ve got plenty.”

Brittany’s house was the most beautiful thing Hendery had never seen in his life. It was all so clean and tidy with most of the furniture having a soft navy fabric on some of the human furniture. It was his first time inside of a human house, so he took in everything his eyes could see.

In the kitchen, there was a wooden table with six chairs, and a large kitchen island stood right in the center (he had seen human billboard ads kitchen ware of some place called “Home Depot”). Two metallic doors were built into one wall, and a sink was placed beneath a window. The cabinets were also a beautiful wooden, and Hendery was impressed at how clean Brittany kept it.

“Pretty,” he mumbled as he sat at the table.

“All I have is salmon,” Brittany interrupted his thoughts. “How do you like them? I just learned how to debone and prepare them.” She set out a wooden board on the island and placed three raw salmon fish on it.

Hendery looked at the fish for a few seconds before picking one up with his bare hands and chomping down on its head with his sharp teeth. He ripped the head off in the process, a few fish scales sprinkling onto the counter.

“That answers that question,” giggled Brittany. “Raw it is.”

As he ate, Brittany fixed herself a BLT sandwich and a glass of the remaining pink lemonade. She tore off a couple paper towels for her new friend and herself. Hendery raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“To clean off your hands and mouth,” she explained as she gave a small demonstration, and he nodded before continuing his lunch.

Brittany observed the way he was chowing down on the raw fish. It was as if he hadn’t eaten in a long time, and seeing how loosely the unbuttoned shirt hung on his body she could almost make out a couple of ribs poking out from his sides.

“Thanks,” Hendery said as he wiped his hands and mouth with the paper towel.

“You’re welcome,” she smiled. “Don’t worry about the scales. I’ll clean it up.”

Hendery nods. His eyes then casually wander around her house.

“It’s not much, but I like it.”

“Pretty,” the merman repeated himself from earlier, now poking at the faucet. He jumped when water automatically showered out.

Brittany chuckled as she tossed her empty plate into the sink. “You haven’t seen much of what humans do, have you?”

Hendery shook his head. “Little.”

“A little.” Brittany thought for a moment. She knew he couldn’t form full sentences, but she knew he was smart. Hendery was curious, and from the way he observed everything Brittany could tell he wanted to learn. A light bulb went off in her head.

“How about this?” she said. “I work in the mornings, but every afternoon you can come by and I’ll teach you how to read and talk.”

“Talk? Read?” Hendery’s eyes were lighting up. No human had ever offered to teach him to speak a language before. Sure, he understood hundreds of languages, but for whatever reason he lacked the ability to try to form a proper sentence. All he spoke to his friends were by different voice patterns and ocean soundwaves.

“Everything,” Brittany promised. “Just come knock on my back door and we’ll begin.”

Hendery nodded. Taking her hand in his, he pressed a gentle kiss to it. “Tomorrow?” he begged.

“Tomorrow.”

-

It was a Friday afternoon when Hendery began his reading and writing lessons with Brittany. She was an excellent teacher as her college degree was in elementary education, but she stuck with tutoring young children who needed phonics and spelling help in school. Hendery was no different from them in terms of learning the different phonics, vowels, and consonants. The first lesson was just the basics of the alphabet and what sound each one made. Flashcards with pictures and the letter, such as “M” for milk, were easy for Hendery to follow. The lessons did get harder with each lesson every day for about a month and a half, but Brittany taught him that practice and application are key in having the lessons stick in his brain. Of course, he got frustrated whenever he couldn’t get a syllable or pronounciation correct, but Brittany pushed him to do his best. Before long, Hendery was forming proper sentences to get his thoughts across to her.

“Okay, so as a final test,” Brittany concluded after their final lesson one Tuesday afternoon, “tell me about an adventure you’ve had in the ocean.”

“What story does Brittany want to hear?” Hendery asked. He had grown a habit of speaking in third person. Brittany had taught him first and third person point-of-view, but he liked speaking in third. She didn’t mind it a bit.

“Did you meet any other mermaids or mermen?”

Hendery shook his head as his smile dropped. “Hendery was abandoned when he was small.”

“What happened?” Brittany wasn’t expecting his answer to be so grim.

“He was too small and weak. His stomach couldn’t hold down anything his father gave him. Only fish.”

“Oh…” Her fingernails tapped on the table in a rhythm. “So, they just left you behind?”

He nodded again, but a grin came back to his face. “Hendery became friends with the sirens. They took him in, fed him, taught him to swim, hunt, and to communicate through sound.”

“Sirens?” Brittany repeated. “How many mythical creatures are out there that are real?”

“The Kraken is not real. The only octopus and squids that exist are only slightly taller than a human man.”

Brittany was now curious. She had only grown up hearing fairy tales about the mythological beings of the deep blue, but she always brushed them off as nothing more than stories. Now, that Hendery had entered into her life, she wanted to know which ones existed and which were hoaxes.

“Tell me more,” she begged as she pushed the notes for the lesson aside. “I want to know everything.”

“Is Brittany sure?” he teased. “There’s a lot of dangerous ones that could be harmful.”

“That’s what makes it exciting, and I know the perfect spot for us to talk.”

“Where?”

“Come with me,” she motioned with her finger, and Hendery followed her out the back door.

“But Hendery and Brittany have relaxed here already,” he whined.

Brittany giggled and took his hand. “Not here, silly. We have to walk and swim a little ways.”

Hendery got excited and held on to her hand tighter as she pulled him along. It was about a three minute walk before they came close to a pier stretching out in the ocean. The pier was nothing fancy, just a place where fishermen could come relax and catch a meal. Most of the time, it was empty mainly because it was a more isolated area. However, the two jumped into the water (Brittany had stripped her clothes off in the house, revealing a royal blue halter top bikini) and quietly swam underneath the bridge to avoid being noticed by two fishermen throwing their lines at the end of the pier.

Once they were far enough, the two of them crawled out of the water and onto the beach area. They decided to just naturally dry off in the sunshine, but it was a little chilly as the breeze kissed their skin.

“Hendery and the sun will keep you warm,” the merman offered, seemingly unbothered by the cool winds. Brittany just nodded in compliance and allowed him to wrap his arms around her waist as they sat down.

Leaning back against his chest, she immediately felt the warmth he gave off. Not only was the warmth nice and comfortable, but being held by her new friend likes this made her feel good inside. She could feel her cheeks turn as red as a firetruck, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted him to hold her forever, if he could. Hendery was discovering some new feelings for himself in that moment, and he knew deep down that he wanted to stay with his friend for as long as he lived.

“What does Brittany want to know?” Hendery asked, his voice cracking in shyness.

-

Tagging: @fantasywayv​ @ezralia-writes​ @queen-of-himbos​ @daybreakx​ @the32ndbeat​ @mafia-nct​ @philosopher-of-fandoms​ @neocitybyday​​  @dreamystuffers​ @jaekissd​ Let me know it you wanna be tagged or removed

[wafdawefesa]

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[rokutouxei]

the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

ikemen vampire: temptation through the dark theo van gogh / mc | T | [ ao3 link in bio ]

The challenge seemed pretty simple: to try to befriend the university bookshop's most sour employee, Theo van Gogh. As a literature major with a boatload of book recommendations on her back, it ought to be a simple task indeed. But as she uncovers what lies between Theo's pages, the more she finds it harder to become closer to him without having to put the feeling directly into words. What can she learn from Theo about what it means to stay—and how can she teach Theo about what it means to let go? | written for ikevamp big bang 2020!

[ masterpost for all chapters ]

CHAPTER 2 OF 22

In a small house in the better neighborhood of the university, a young man is beginning to dream. He’s chasing the afterimages of a vision he’d caught, trying to see if he can get it down on paper. It’s scary, but it’s exciting. He’s prepared his materials—the canvas, the pen, the paint—and he’s closed the door, and opened the shutters, letting the morning light flood the studio-cum-library in their small, rented home.

Vincent holds the pen gently, like a prayer, in his hands, before beginning to sketch.

--

The thing with living in such a small university town such as this is that you cannot escape the inevitable.

And by inevitable, that means you know someone who knows someone, and everyone kind of vaguely knows each other in some way or another—through a club, or a shared favorite hang-out spot, or an extracurricular. Everyone is someone’s something by a degree or another.

She’s learned this in her first year at university, but the lesson’s about to be driven a little closer to home today.

She’s seated in the café as usual, annotating a book when Vincent approaches her, a small brownie in hand. It’s not the ones they serve regularly, cut on a smaller bit, and maybe it’s one of the edges or corners in the baking tray. “Can I offer you a little snack?” he asks, offering the plate in front of her.

Looking up at him through round-rimmed glasses, she blinks. “Oh? Thank you, but—what’s this for?” she asks, as Vincent puts the plate down on a free spot on her table. He takes a seat on the free chair next to her.

“Can I ask you a favor?”

Modeling isn’t exactly her forte, but Vincent insists that he doesn’t need a full-blown model for his project—besides, he couldn’t have afforded it, even if he did need one. He’s working on “something”—by the rumors in the art department, she assumes it’s for his thesis, his capstone project, but who knows?—and he needs a little help on the lighting. He’s working with some tricky fabric, draped down bodies, and he isn’t quite sure how it should come out.

“It’ll only take two hours tops,” he promises, “if you wouldn’t mind. It’s not nude or anything risque, I just need to be able to see how the fabric drapes accordingly to the light. I’ll treat you to dinner afterward?”

Here’s the thing—one does not exactly say no to Vincent. The university town is small enough as it is, and everyone knows Vincent because he’s a legend in the art department. You do not turn down the offer to be painted by a master, or at least that’s how the logic goes. But at the same time, Vincent is always sunflowers and soft smiles, and when he looks at her like that… the only thing that comes out of her mouth is “Of course I will!”

“I’m sorry this is all so sudden,” he says sheepishly. “I just had this idea a bit back, and I’ve been wanting to work on it…”

“No, it’s okay,” she replies instantly. “You’re always reserving my favorite seat for me anyway, and you’ve always been so nice to me. We’re basically friends now, and friends do this for each other, yes?”

Vincent’s eyes glow in a way you’ve never seen before, and it makes you flush a little. “Friends? Of course, yes, thank you so much.”

His shift won’t end in another hour and a half, so he treats her to coffee (“you didn’t have to!” “it’s on me, I swear!”) as she’s waiting for him. She picks up her beautiful, hardbound copy of 1800s English literature, now lovingly highlighted and with many flags at certain pages, and begins to read, scribbling notes on a separate notebook.

By 5:15 Vincent is ready to go, dressed out of his uniform and into his casual clothes, a sweater one or two sizes too big for him over a shirt and some pants. He calls out her name gently, hand leaning on her table.

And she stares.

Vincent isn’t her type—he’s a little too angelic for her liking, as she does prefer those on the more rugged side—but she won’t deny that he’s attractive. She had never seen Vincent in casual clothes before—she’d seen him hang up his barista apron at the end of shifts before, but never actually caught him go home—and she pauses for a moment when he arrives at her table.

“Are you okay?”

“Haha,” she says awkwardly, coughing her shock away. “Yeah, I almost didn’t recognize you, is all. Let me just pack up?”

She hadn’t expected it, but she should have—that her friendly local barista, the legend of the art department—is living smack dab in the middle of their small town, at the perfect distance to everything. In a house, too, not a small dormitory. It’s a beautiful one painted white with a small garden and a porch outside, a tree standing tall and providing shade on the house, and a small classic mailbox in front—it looked like a house that belonged in the suburbs instead of in the middle of this very schoolish town. She can’t help the small whistle of appreciation when they get there.

“Our father knew the landlord,” Vincent explains, as he unlocks the door. “So we get it rather cheaply. Careful of the landing.”

We? She catches the plural but doesn’t get to ask, as she enters the apartment and marvels at it. It’s not extravagant, but it’s still rather fancy, considering she stays in a small studio room. There are paintings hanging on the walls—Vincent’s, she assumes—and everything is in attractive, warm colors. What catches her attention, however, is the small framed photo on the side table by the sofa, of two boys on a swing, a blond one (Vincent?) pushing one with brown hair (a cousin?).

“Five and three,” Vincent says, by way of explanation. She’s about to ask him who the other child is, but Vincent interrupts her. “Do you need water? A break?”

They’d walked quite a bit from the café, after all, and while she had her bike with her, Vincent didn’t, and so she just rolled it next to her throughout the whole 30-minute walk. “No, I’m okay. Where’s your studio?”

Vincent beams. “Here, come.”

They walk down the hall and enter a door to the left, and the studio opens up to her. The wall on the right has a row of high bookshelves, all nearly filled to the brim with books on all sorts of different topics. The wall where the door is has a layer of corkboard attached to it, where a multitude of prints and photos and papers with scribbles and notes are pinned and strung together. Most of the room’s floor is covered in some kind of paper—newspaper, craft paper—to protect the wooden slats below. There are easels stacked at the far side of the room, but facing away, so she can’t exactly see what is on them. And then, there is the set-up for Vincent’s current project: an easel in the center of the room with the sketch of a woman’s figure; a white sheet draping from the ceiling to the floor, serving as a backdrop, in the far corner; a steel circle hanging by the ceiling, the kind people sit on; black craft paper laid on the floor below it; and on top of it, a small stool, a fabric in beautiful vermillion, and some fairy lights.

“Welcome to the studio,” Vincent says, guiding her inside. “Sorry for the mess, I was working this morning.”

“No, it’s okay,” she says, carefully stepping in. “It’s so interesting to see your studio, where all the magic happens.”

Vincent flinches at that, but doesn’t make any other comment about it. She contemplates if she has to apologize, but doesn’t know exactly what she’ll have to apologize for. “No magic here,” Vincent mumbles.

He asks her to get comfortable on the wooden stool and maybe get a feel for the fabric, as he sets up his camera. The plan was this: she’ll get into the poses he needs for his project, he will take a couple photos for reference in different angles, and then he will take her out to dinner.

The time passes rather uneventfully, and pretty quickly, because the poses aren’t entirely too tricky on her end. A raised arm here, a dangle of hair in this direction, a tiptoe towards this—Vincent is gentle in maneuvering her around and quick in taking his photos, and in an hour they’re ready. Vincent thanks her profusely for her help as he’s packing away, and she laughs as she says “Well, you’re treating me to food, so it’s paid work.”

“Dinner, yes, of course,” Vincent nods, putting the camera back on its place on the bookshelf. “I actually got my brother to save a spot at, erm, my favorite place, if you don’t mind? It’s Greek food.”

“Oh, that’s fine! I didn’t know you had a brother, Vincent.”

“I do, he’s the sweetest thing,” he answers with a beam of a smile, so much so that for a moment she falters about joining them for dinner. One Vincent was bad enough for her heart as it is, but two of them? That’s not good news is it?

Except, yet again, the rule of not saying no to Vincent applies, and so after a bit of tidying they’re already on the way to the restaurant. An actual restaurant, mind you, not some cheapo fast food that Arthur treats her to. (“This isn’t fair, you know? Just because I’m not in your menu of dateables and bangables doesn’t mean you treat me disproportionately to everyone else.” “Stop complaining and eat your McDonald’s.”) It’s a small one, admittedly, but most of the stalls in this town is, anyway. Vincent peers into the building and then pulls her in, inviting her inside.

Vincent pauses for a moment. “I’ve been told he has quite an… aggressive face, but don’t be afraid of him okay?”

“If he’s your brother, there’s no reason to be scared,” she says with a smile. For a moment she is looking for a twin puff of sunflower blond hair, but then, remembering the photos, she begins to look for an equally-fluffy brown mop of hair, and just at the exact moment she comes to the realization—

“Hondje?!”

“Theo?!”

--

The thing with living in such a small university town such as this is that you cannot escape the inevitable.

It’s a silly thought. She even finds it rather ironic that that is the wise saying about making friends and getting to know other people in this university because running away is the one thing she wishes she was good at.

See, the first time she saw Theo, she thought, wow, this guy looks so insufferable. I can’t believe he works here, and I have to see him every week. This is the worst.

Until it isn’t.

She knew, the moment she made eye contact with Theo across the table in that homey Greek restaurant, that that event would change her life in ways she wouldn’t have—and couldn’t have—imagined. She just didn’t know how yet. Vincent was surprised that he didn’t need to introduce the two of them to each other, and with an irritated grumble, Theo had explained that she was a frequenter of the bookstore, taking a jab at her having no other friends and spending so much time around books instead. She quips back and says the reason they don’t have customers is that Theo’s face is enough to sour anyone’s day, and so no one but her comes anyway.

But Vincent is not the kind of person to have this happen, so instead, with a truce, his kind insistence, and irresistible smile—dammit!—she and Theo, instead, become friends. Good friends. Wait, no—they become begrudging friends.

But they don’t talk.

Theo doesn’t even give her his phone number.

No, they’re not friends. Not yet, anyway. Theo makes a show of only putting up with all of this for his brother, as he continues to ignore even the most cordial of texts like “thank you for putting a rush-order on my book!”, throwing insults back and forth with her in the bookshop. But eventually, both of them find a rhythm, a little liminal space of friends by circumstance and not by desire that they’ve agreed on.

That is until they begin the book exchange.

[skgway]

1823 Aug., Tues. 5

7

11

In the stable etc. 1/2 hour – Read from page 71 to 83 on “the letters and life of Ninon de l’Enclos” volume 8 (No. [numero] 15) Retrospective Review – I agree with the reviewer – some fastidious readers may possibly object to the publication of such an article thro’ such a medium –

Dissatisfied with several passages of the letter I wrote last night to M– [Mariana]. Wrote it over again in 3/4 hour in a hand so much less close, that in spite of the great deal left out, made it fill 3 pages and a few lines of crossing on the 2nd page – There seemed some appearance of annoyance and displeasure in my 1st letter which I entirely avoided in my 2nd –

Went down to breakfast at 9 40/60 – At 11 took George in the gig and set off to Haugh – Put a letter into the post for my uncle, and got to Haughend in 50 minutes – All the party at home with the addition of “Captain” Butler, a very grood sort of, vulgar, quondam Captain of an Indiaman – The young people did not appear till luncheon –

Sir John A– [Astley] franked my letters to Mrs. N[orcliffe] (Langton hall, Malton) to Miss Marsh (Micklegate York) and to M– [Mariana] (Lawton hall, Lawton, Cheshire) and they went in the Haughend letter bag in time for yesterday’s post – Nothing particular in the conversation way –

Sir John somehow or other inquired if I believed all Homer’s stories, or that there ever was such a place as Troy, or such a siege – I saw he had read Bryton or some sceptic on the subject and was very gentle in what I said in support of my historical creed – At last Sir John (after some flimsy observation) tried to shew that women were as much respected in ancient days as now – Briseis as much respected by Achilles, as wives were respected by their husbands now – Woman as well treated then as now – He (Sir John) would have treated lady A– [Astley] as well at that time as he does at this – I did not say much, not wishing to appear to have too much the better of the question argument for none said a word about it but ourselves, and Sir John is evidently looked up to as an oracle by them all, tho’ his responses will never set the Thames on fire by their wisdom –

He complimented his wife exceedingly – In fact, she is pretty enough, stylish enough, sensible enough, everything enough for him – Speaking of their place of family, she observed she “always thought the Astleys were an envied family in Wiltshire” “My dear” said he “they envy me for having got you” –

It is plain enough to me from their manners etc. etc. that they not exactly comme il faut with the Wiltshire county society – They have had the house in London that Sir Jacob Astley and his family had had, and many calls were therefore made upon them by mistake – They returned some – Were admitted at one house, the manners of the ladies shewed they were not expected, and the A– [Astley]s took their leave – A party was soon afterwards given by the family, and they (the A– [Astley]s) were not asked – They do not get on in London society – Nor as yet perhaps are they likely to do – Nor will Miss A– [Astley] even after “she has been presented” (at court) –

Lady A– [Astley] has not worldly nous enough to keep all these things to herself – Thinks Mrs. William Henry Rawson very ladylike, Ditto Mr. Christopher Rawson – The manners of the Society here suit the A– [Astley]s very well – Captain Butler it seems has had 1 or 2 premiums from the Doncaster society (I know nothing of this society) for feeding horses – Kept his draft-horses throughout the winter at 3/5 a head on chopt straw and line-seed – His saddle horses only cost him about 5/. [shillings] a week having nearly the same as the cart-horse with the addition of a little hay and corn –

Boils down the linseed to the consistence of cream – Perhaps about 2 quarts water to a pint of lineseed – Mixes this with their oats or chopt straw to a proper  (a mashy?) consistence, and gives them as much as they will eat – A chopping machine at Doncaster 7 1/2 guineas – Try our horses with about 2 wine-glasses full of linseed at first – Merely pour on boiling water – and let the seed stand till it is mucilaginous –

This plan is good for feeding cattle – It is the way in which dealers fatten up horses – But it wont do for hunters, or horses from which speed is required – The linseed works away to greasy perspiration – Runs out of the anals like melted fat – They must have good hay and corn for speed – But cart-horses do uncommonly well on this food – 

They all like Caradoc – Think him “a very likely horse” – His toes turn in a little: this is best for a gig-horse – If the toes turn at all outwards, the gig horse can scarcely ever keep his feet – He cannot hold up up hill and down – 

Staid till about 3 – Called at Saville hill to ask Miss P– [Pickford] whether, when she called with me at Haughend, she meant to call on lady A– [Astley] or not – Not – Asked her to come to Shibden to see Caradoc’s long switch tail cut – She would meet me at the library in 1/2 hour –

At 4 1/4 – drove thro’ the town, past Northgate, and Crosshills, and turned up by Greenhill, stopt at Furnish’s, and got a pair of new reins 10/6 – Left George to drive the gig home from Northgate, and without going into the house, went to the library – Shewed Miss P– [Pickford] the article respecting Ninon de l’Enclos (vide the 1st line of today) and the points of Humour (vide page 79) – She agreed with the retrospective reviewers, and with me that the soldier and his chére amie was the best print –

She walked home with me to the top of our little lane, but must there return for the children who would come to meet her – We walked about on the top of the bank – My aunt joined us – She left us in about 20 minutes (at 6) – 

We then walked to H–x [Halifax] – Miss P– [Pickford] returned with me up the old bank even to xxxxxx. I walked back again with her a little way up the Cunnery lane, when we met her party of children – 3 Wilcocks, 2 Paleys, and Miss Jones the governess, and we parted –

Our chief conversation about Miss Threlfall and my entreaties to see her last letter. Nothing could prevail till at last I asked if she feared its telling me anything I did not know before. On finding this the case, I said I would soon sooner move this fear by proving that I was not as still suspected in any degree of uncertainty. 

I wondered she did not know this already, but I had wrapped up my meaning too much and she should now have it so clearly that no doubt could possibly remain in her mind. Upon this I said I considered her connection with her friend a marriage of souls and something more. That if they were on a visit and their friend provided them separate rooms it would be unnecessary and they would presently defeat this arrangement by being together. 

Under other circumstances it would have been a wonder that with beauty fortune etc. etc. Miss Threlfall did not marry but now it was no wonder at all. Asked Miss P[ickford] if she now understood me thoroughly. She said yes. I said any would censure unqualifiedly but I did not. If it had been done from books and not from nature, the thing would have been different. Or if there had been any inconsistency first on one side of the question, then the other. But as it was, nature was the guide, and I had nothing to say there was no parallel between a case like this and the sixth satire of Juvenal. The one was artificial and inconsistent the other was the effect of nature and always consistent with itself.

At all events, said I, ‘you remember an early chapter of genesis and it is infinitely better than the thing alluded to there,’ meaning onanism. ‘This is surely comparatively unpardonable. There is no mutual affection to excuse it’. Miss P[ickford] did not say much but seemed satisfied. 

‘Now,’ said I, ‘the difference between you and me is mine is theory. Yours practice. I am taught by books, you by nature. I am very warm in friendship, perhaps few or none. Moreso, my manners might mislead you, but but I do not in reality go beyond the utmost verge of friendship. Here my feelings stop. If they did not, you see from my whole manner and sentiments I should not care to own it. Now do you believe me?’ ‘Yes,’ said she, ‘I do.’ 

‘Alas,’ thought I to myself, ‘you are at last deceived completely.’ My conscience almost smote me but I thought of π [Mariana]. It is for her sake that I fisrt [first] thought of being, and that I am so deceitful to poor Pic, who trusts me so implicitly and at last turned no objection to my seeing the letter. I said perhaps there was not another in the world she could trust so safely. Perhaps not Miss Caroline Renouard, she was not read or liberal enough tto [to] think as I did. She would condemn unqualifiedly. Pick agreed. 

I owned my manners might mislead people, particularly before I knew as much as I do now, before I read Lubinus’s Juvenal, before I first knew Miss Brown of whom she has heard reports. But now I knew how to be more careful. Yet still, my manners might mislead Miss Vrelfall [Threlfall]. She said, ‘yes they would’ –

I ended by saying I was now satisfied that she thoroughly understood me and that I had had an opportunity of telling her my sentiments, for she must often have wondered and not known what to make of me. We parted mutually satisfied, I musing on what had passed. I am now let into her secret and she forever barred from mine – Are there more Miss Pickfords in the world than I have before thought of –

Came in to dinner a little before 7 – Had ordered George to have the gig ready a little before 9 in the morning to go to Huddersfield to speak to Pontey about coming over to plan our new road to the house, etc. – But finding my uncle against it contrary to my expectation – (I had always thought all he said against it in joke) – I immediately countermanded the order very quietly determining never to mention the thing again – Nor to mention planting or otherwise improving the place –

I told my uncle very quietly I certainly would not teaze him any more on the subject; and I shall indeed change my mind, if I do – The thing absolutely did not annoy me at all – I immediately thought to myself, ‘perhaps it is best as it is – I incur no responsibility – etc. etc.’ Perhaps I may save my money in future instead of laying it out on the place and leave things as they are –

Barometer 1 3/4 degrees below changeable Fahrenheit 56º at 9 p.m. – Rainy morning till between 10 & 11, afterwards a shower or 2 which I escaped and otherwise a toleraby fine day i.e. fine afternoon and evening – Came upstairs at 10 25/60. E [two dots, treating venereal complaint] O [three dots, signifying much discharge] Missed washing just before dinner –

Miss Pickford called this morning and sat a little while with my aunt – She brought me Samouelle’s system of Entomology to read –

[sideways in margin] Major P– [Priestley], speaking of horses that went near the ground, called daisy-croppers – i.e. going so near the ground as to crop or strike off the tops of the daisies – Drove along the new road today for the 1st time

“the soldier and his chére amire“– Points of humour; illustrated by the designs of George Cruikshank [x]

[omoi-no-hoka]

How to Choose Japanese Manga/Books for Studying

In an ask recently, a user asked me what reading materials I recommend to study with. 

I’ve covered the standard textbooks here, and today I’ll talk about how you can determine whether an authentic material is suitable for your studies. All of this advice is based upon my studies in SLA (Second Language Acquisition) and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), as well as my personal experience learning Japanese. 

What’s an Authentic Material?

Authentic materials are print, video, and audio that are not classroom materials, but are things made for Japanese (or any other target language) speakers. A mock advertisement in your textbook is not an authentic material because it is not made for a Japanese person, but an actual Help Wanted ad in a Japanese newspaper is an authentic material.

Authentic materials can be just about anything audio or visual. Manga, light novels, newspapers, magazines, jpop songs, anime, news broadcast, etc. 

Today I’m just going to focus on visual authentic materials, but if there’s interest I could make a future post about audio materials too. 

1. Decide Your Method of Reading: Intensive or Extensive

When reading to study a foreign language, there are two different ways to go about it, intensive reading or extensive reading.

Intensive Reading 

Reading and looking up every single word you do not know, even words that aren’t essential to understanding the main points of the story. 

Pros: you learn a lot more vocab

Cons: it takes considerably longer to make progress

In order to do this method effectively (and by effectively I mean “resist chucking your book out the window in a fit of rage”), you must comprehend ~70%* of the content.

Extensive Reading 

Basically what you do when you read in your native language. You read each page, and even if you come across a word you don’t know, you keep going. You only look up words that keep coming up, or that hinder your overall comprehension of what’s going on. 

Pros: you cover more ground and get a bigger sense of accomplishment

Cons: you can miss out on smaller details

In order to do this method effectively, you must comprehend ~90% of the content.

Neither reading method is better than the other. Choose which style suits your personality best. Personally, I’m one of those people that has to know every last morsel about everything, so I only do intensive reading. 

2. Determine How Difficult a Material Is

Up above I said you had to be able to comprehend either 70 or 90 percent of the content depending on the method you want to go with.

In extensive reading, you need to be able to understand almost all the words because you can’t stop to look up a ton of stuff. If you have to look up 15 words on a page because you can’t understand what’s going on, you’re not doing extensive reading--you’re doing intensive reading. 

Now, as for the 70% I put on the intensive reading, there’s a bit of give with that, depending on how patient you are haha. If you’re okay with a crawling pace, the comprehension could be 10% if you want. But if you’re like me and you’re a bit hasty, you’re going to want to be able to comprehend around 70-80% of the vocab. 

So how do you figure out how difficult the content is? Pick a random page and the first 100 words on it, and count the words you didn’t know. Subtract the words you didn’t know from 100, and the answer will tell you roughly how much you can comprehend of the text. Easy, right? 

3. What Makes a Bad Material

I’m betting that anime/manga is what got most of us interested in learning Japanese, and there’s probably that one really nostalgic manga you’re dying to read in its original Japanese format.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but just because you love a series doesn’t make it a good learning material. 

Things to Avoid in a Material

Lots of technical, scientific, or military jargon

I know that this wipes out a large swath of series, but the point of reading this is to learn Japanese, and there’s a good chance that most of the vocab you would learn would not be usable in conversation. Why waste the time learning 白刃取り (catching a blade between two palms) when you could be learning something more practical? 

Period works (Edo Era and further back)

Many (but not all) period pieces contain a bunch of obsolete words, and the last thing you want to be is one of those gaijin that uses “gozaru” unironically. I tried using the expression 村八分 (ostracism) and got laughed at by my coworkers just last month because that just makes people think of villages in the Edo period.

Long Chapters

Particularly if you’re doing the Intensive Reading method, it’s important to give yourself a sense of accomplishment. It took me an hour to read one page of a book for one of my classes, and 30 hours to read ONE chapter. It was the most frustrating and endless experience I’ve had to date. Pick manga (because chapters are short) or short stories. (I really recommend Hoshi Shinichi’s “short-short” stories.)

Don’t be like poor Kagome

4. What Makes a Good Material

I have saved the most important condition for your material until last. 

Are you ready?

Here it is:

Make sure it’s something you like!

I know that this is so basic I shouldn’t even have to say it. But listen, for one of my Japanese courses in uni, I had a semester to read one of Haruki Murakami’s novellas. It was the most difficult and frustrating semester I had because not only was it super hard for me vocab-wise, it was boring as hell. I didn’t enjoy the story, and the ending was so

alskfjksldfjsd

It’s been 6 years and I’m still triggered. It was awful, and it made me feel like all of this toil, all of this suffering, had been for nothing. I thought that I hated reading in Japanese. But actually, when I pushed myself to try reading a manga I liked, I learned that I didn’t hate reading Japanese--

--I just hated reading Murakami.

If you find a material that is the right difficulty level and is appropriate for your purposes but you don’t find it interesting, it’s likely that you’ll get bored of it and quit halfway through. But if you like a material enough, even if it is too difficult for your current level, your love for it can give you the extra boost of motivation you need to push through it. 

My favorite manga series of all time is Rurouni Kenshin. It was the first anime I ever watched, and it kinda started me down the road I’m on. So I decided to read the manga, and oh man is it a chore. I’ve read 14 volumes and have looked up 1,577 words as of today. It has a bunch of obsolete Japanese, it has so many sword words holy bejeezus (this is where I learned 白刃取り, btw), and it can take me hours to get through a chapter sometimes. 

But I love that series with everything I am, so I don’t care how long it takes. 

Really, what matters more than anything is that it’s something you are really invested and interested in.

5. How Soon Can I Start Reading Authentic Materials?

Did you know that the average native Japanese person cannot read a newspaper until they are a freshman in high school? That is how hard Japanese is. For the native speakers.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer here, but I would recommend you wait to use most authentic materials until you are N3 or N2. I finally began feeling comfortable reading stuff in Japanese around when I passed the N2. I understand that Chi’s Sweet Home is popular for beginners, so that isn’t to say that there are no authentic materials to be found for new learners, but they are very hard to find. 

But hey, if you are determined enough, there is nothing that can stop you from reading what you love, and nothing worth having is easily won. Ganbatte!

[bleakcreek]

If it’s almost the end of the year, and we think i can safely say that this has been an AMAZING year for fic in the rhink fandom! there have been so many incredible new authors, on top of authors that have been around for years who are still writing about our boys, and i wanted to give a little bit of recognition to some of my personal favorite fics written in 2019!

i am not in any way implying these are “the best” fics, just the ones that i’ve personally enjoyed. i’m mostly sticking to either completed mutli-chapter fics or longer one-shots, and i’m limiting myself to no more than one fic per author so i spread the love.

without further ado, my (personal) top rhink fics of 2019. (behind a cut, because this post is very long.)

-

If You’re Wondering If I Want You To by @ssodangdark Rating: Teen Chapters: 5 Words: 10,234

Summary: “The year is 2006 — you just crafted the perfect away message, The Fray is playing on your clock radio, and you're trying to figure out what band t-shirt to wear to school today. Meanwhile, two teenage boys meet for the first time and navigate their feelings for one another through the songs on one of their iPods.”

this fic is everything you could want in a high school au. it’s sweet, and full of pining, and comes with it’s own built-in soundtrack. i can’t recommend this fic enough. this fic is so sweet, you might get a cavity reading it.

Honorable Mentions: most of em’s other fics are oneshots, so i wanted to feature a longer fic, but i also have to acknowledge her oneshots too! Three’s a Crowd (rhett/link/jessie) and Chris Springs are two of my favorite fics and i would highly recommend reading them.

-

Don’t Hold Back by @likeaswitchinheat Rating: Explicit Chapters: 26 Words: 86,501

Summary: “Link has a lot of responsibilities resting on his gorgeous shoulders. It’s Rhett’s job to unburden him of all that. When Link is Rhett’s, he doesn’t have to think about a thing. Rhett will take care of him.”

laika is another ridiculously prolific author, and i’m actually ashamed that it took me until a few weeks ago to read this fic even though it’s been finished for months. this fic is basically half shameless filth and half feelings and angst, which is pretty much exactly what i look for in a fic. 

Honorable Mentions: i absolutely love all of laika’s oneshots, of which there are far too many to name, but i’ll put myself on blast for my particular tastes by giving special mention to Man Bites Dog and Selfie. 

-

Candids by @captainsourwolf Rating: Explicit Chapters: 8 Words: 19,635

Summary: “Rhett is a photographer fresh out of SCAD. He lands his first gig soon after graduation, just a simple print ad for a high school advertising their new senior class wear. At the shoot he meets in-demand fashion model Link Neal. It's tense from the start. Rhett ends up being his photographer on most of his shoots, and at every single one Rhett starts a collection of candid shots that he keeps for himself, in a box of trinkets he finds comforting.”

i absolutely loved this fic. i loved the premise, and the slowburn and build up, and the tender longing between rhett and link in this fic. i’m such a slut for pining, which is why this ultimately won out over a couple of elizabeth’s other fics, which are also very good. 

Honorable Mentions: a very close second for this my favorite fic of elizabeth’s was None Like This, but i ultimately had to give it to Candids because i’m a sucker for that softness. Aftercare and hump a little also deserve to be mentioned, too, if you’re looking for oneshots. 

-

Rhinestone Cowboy by @soho-x Rating: Explicit Chapters: 15 Words: 26,439

Summary: “If he was honest with himself, he could admit the glamour of being on tour for one of Country Music’s biggest acts had clouded his better judgement. He’d quickly dismissed all apprehensions regarding living in a conversion van for three months, instead focusing on the idea of working a stage during a live show, standing in the wings while country maverick Roy Walker played to crowds bigger than the population of the town Rhett grew up in. It was a dream come true for a small town boy like him.”

this fic hooked me right from the first chapter! i was absolutely in love with the premise of rhett and link as country music stars, and this fic did not disappoint. if you like tender slowburn and pining, you’ll absolutely love this fic. it killed me in the sweetest possible way.

Honorable Mentions: for how recently em jointed the fandom, she’s written a ton of fic! Stolen Moments, No Good Very Bad, #Dormlife, and Only For Your Very Space (unfinished) are some of my other favorites from her.

-

Apartment 69 by @apparentlynotreallyfinnish Rating: Explicit Chapters: 18 Words: 86,501

Summary: “Link has it all figured out. He has a plan for his life. He has a nice girlfriend and a nice job and a nice routine. It really doesn't mean anything that sometimes he gets off on watching men fuck each other. He's just curious. But when a famous gay porn star moves next door to him, his perfect plans start to fall apart.”

appa is one of the most prolific writers in the fandom, so it was really hard to narrow it down to just one fic from her. i actually almost put another fic of hers on here instead, but apartment 69 was the first fic of hers that i read, so i felt like i had to give it the edge over incognito if only for that.

this fic had me on the edge of my seat with every update, and it should be a testament to how much i loved this fic that i was genuinely shocked by how long it was, because i could have sworn it was less than 10 chapters. that’s how quickly i tore through it all.

Honorable Mentions: while i didn’t officially include them, i also want to mention her fics Incognito, I Only Want You to See Me (unfinished), NSFW, Wingman, and Let Me Be Your Light, as well as her entire library of oneshots. she is INCREDIBLY prolific so you can easily spend weeks going through her ao3 page and never run out of things to read.

-

remember that time in college I found your handcuffs? by @egocentrifuge Rating: Explicit Chapters: 3 Words: 10,435

Summary: “Rhett feels antsy, wants to leave this entire conversation about the fetish gear he found in their dorm behind, but he still wants to know despite his better judgement.

“Okay, the - dom? takes control of a scene. Why wouldn’t the dom just do whatever he wants?”

“Because it’s all about trust, man.” Link’s face is open and sincere in that way he only gets when he believes in something; Rhett can’t look away. “The sub trusts the dom to make it good for them, and so the dom does their best to. It can be a lot of pressure, but it’s - good, too, being able to make someone feel safe and taken care of, you know? For someone to be willing to be that vulnerable…”

Something in the way Link says it trickles warmly down Rhett’s spine, and he puts his beer down.

“Alright,” he says firmly. “Fine. I don’t understand it completely but that’s - that’s fine. As long as you’re both happy or whatever.” There are more questions Rhett wants to ask, but it’s - too much, for some reason. Not just knowing weird kinky details of Link’s sex life, but the way he’s talking about it.

It's twenty years before they discuss it again.”

eggsy has the market cornered on a very particular genre i like to call “porn that makes you cry.” this fic mostly gets the spot because a lot of eggsy’s other fics are much shorter and/or not on ao3, and for purposes of a fic rec, i really wanted to give something long enough to really sink your teeth into, but i an assure you that every single one of their fics should and would be on here if i didn’t limit myself to one fic per author.

eggsy packs an incredibly amount of feeling into a small amount of words, and strikes a perfect balance between hot, angsty, and loving. i cannot recommend eggsy’s work enough.

Honorable Mentions: what of eggsy’s fics isn’t an honorable mention? Reciprocation, You Know What They Say, Men Who Dress Like They Do in California, Reprobates, Unbuttoned, and literally everything on their tumblr (which has a lot of stuff that isn’t on their ao3).

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The Murmur of Yearning by @its-mike-kapufty Rating: Explicit Chapters: 35 Words: 108,811

Summary: “When burnt-out professor Link Neal is offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that whisks him to the farthest reaches of the world, he isn't as ready as he thought he would be for the biting cold or the overwhelming darkness of Antarctica. Though at least he'd been given fair warning of those hazards.

The same couldn't be said of his new boss and research partner.”

mike has so many amazing fics that it by all rights should have been impossible to narrow it down to my one favorite, but honestly, this was a surprisingly easy choice. in spite of how much i love every single fic of mike’s, this one was so beautifully written and poignant, and i don’t think any other fic has ever made me cry the way this fic did. it hurts — in the best possible way.

i started reading this fic one evening after work, and was so captivated by it that i stayed up until 3 am, passed out midway through a chapter, then went home early from work the next day (sick! i was legitimately sick!) and laid in bed with a fever reading through the rest of this fic. the last written work i plowed through with that kind of speed and determination was harry potter and the deathly hallows...ten years ago. 

Honorable Mentions: truthfully i could just link to mike’s whole ao3 page here, but i have to at least give special mention to You Have (1) New Message for making me sob (and being the first fic of mike’s that i read), Feel Good for being delightfully fluffy and soft, Untethered for being so incredibly creative and exciting and having me on the edge of my seat for the entire month it was coming out, and And Sundowns Mend Rhett for making me feel things, as mike is wont to do. 

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The Traveler by @the-average-bear Rating: Mature Chapters: 13 Words: 52,712

Summary: “Rhett's on a journey.”

this fic is probably tied with The Murmur of Yearning for my favorite rhink fic of all time, but i had to give The Traveler the edge only because it’s not...quite an au, and while both fics gave me a lot of feelings, this fic focuses on the rhett and link we know and love. it explores what might have been and what could be — and it touches on my favorite genre of fiction, which is sci-fi. 

rhett finds himself accidentally traveling between timelines, exploring what his life could have been like under different circumstances. the build up to the rhink content is slow, and while there’s some smut, it’s pretty minimal, so this is a very different type of fic than a lot of the others here. but god, if you want to feel every feeling possible about these boys, if you want to cry, if you want to be overwhelmed by how much rhett loves link (and vice versa)...? 

please, please read this fic. 

Honorable Mentions: a lot of their other stuff is from pre-2019 so it’s kind of cheating to rec them on a post of the best fics of 2019, but seriously, please read any and all of their stuff. 

-

More Honorable Mentions: i was going to do a lot more, but this list got really long and time consuming and i wasn’t able to do as many as i wanted. but some other authors i absolutely adored this year (in no particular order) are:

Rhincoln | @bloodbros

evenlypaced | @youdidinthedark

cockymclaughlin | @cockymclaughlin

pringlesaremydivision | @pringlesaremydivision

ohmyflavors | (not sure if they have a tumblr?)

LinksLipsSinkShips | @linkslipssinkships

missingparentheses | @missingparentheses

festivalofpudding | @festival-of-pudding

RileyRooin | @rileyrooin

crackers4jenn | @crackers4jenn

TheMouthKing | @themouthking

chronicallyilltrashcan | @chronicallyilltrashcan

[cheonsascenarios]

Can i request a LE smut a male reader in the studio ?

➜  Interference

Pairing: LE x Male reader

Request: Yes

Genre: Smut

——————————————❖———————————————

Finally, after months and months of applying to jobs, you landed one. Well, technically. Shinsadong Tiger was producing a new album and wanted some young blood assisting him. It was your chance to prove your worth.

Choosing your outfit was difficult. You wanted to dress properly, it was an important day. But on the other hand, you didn’t want to seem too uptight. You decided to go for a casual look: Jean, hoodie, jacket. Decent enough for an intern who was supposed to bring fresh ideas to the table. You got there early. You bought coffee for everyone coming. First impressions are always important. You scrolled through twitter to kill some time. An article caught your attention:

 -LE ALBUM IS AROUND THE CORNER! -

“After being out of the public eye for almost a year, LE is coming back with a new album. Shinsadong Tiger will be producing it and he assures it will be something that the fans have not seen before”

You kept scrolling but you didn’t read anything.

“Ah, I see. Yes, that must be it. They hired me because they want me to work on-”. A very sharp sound made you look away from your phone. It was coming your way. One after another they became louder, feeling like knives stabbing your heart. Suddenly, the sounds stopped. Now with its source revealed, so did your heart for a moment.

“...LE…”

Your guess was correct. Standing in front of you were Shinsadong Tiger, his assistant, and LE. The sound you heard before, came from her black heels. She looked intimidating. A black leather skirt, a black shirt, and a black leather jacket. Anyone else in that outfit would’ve looked just normal to you, but there was something imposing about her.

“Ah, y/n, you shouldn’t have bothered! I appreciate it anyways!”. Still dumbfounded you tried to respond asking what did he meant, but then you realized. The coffee. You didn’t know LE was going to be there, so you just bought 3 cups. The panic caused by that comment must’ve been showing in your face because while going into the studio LE said: “I don’t want coffee”.

Great. It was obvious she noticed what actually happened and felt insulted. You had to come up with something to either fix the situation or make it seem like you actually bought coffee for her. Lost in your thoughts you didn’t see Shinsadong and his assistant following LE. After getting back to your senses, you also followed them.

“Um, I didn’t get to present myself earlier, I’m-”

“Okay, listen. I just got back from a shoot, I’m really tired and some new producer rubbed me the wrong way. Let’s just do what we came here for and go home”

“I’m really sorry. Look, it’s my first day and I wanted to make a good impression. No one told me you were coming. Had I known beforehand, I wouldn’t have come across as such a rude person”

“I guess you have a point. I was supposed to go home but I wanted to finish this song. Whatever. Let’s move on”. 

She offered you a handshake which you gladly took. She looked you in the eyes. She seemed curious about something. Before letting go your hand she smiled while slightly nodding. She turned around and went into the booth. You were confused as to why she did that but decided not to worry about it after having dodged such a bullet.

“So, this is what we are going to do. LE is going to go through some verses and I want you to do whatever you feel fits those bars better. Got it?” Shinsadong Tiger calmly explained to you how the process should be.

“Yes! No problem!”. After receiving the task, you sat down in front of the booth glass. On the other side, LE sat down in front of the mic. It wasn’t a big studio so it seemed like you were sat across the sides of a table. Through the glass, you could only see LE upper body. You put on your headphones and started listening to LE going through her lines. Shinsadong was sitting at the back on the couch with his assistant, talking about something you couldn’t quite figure out. While going through some files in your notebook, LE voice sounded in your ears:

“You know, we may be cool now but I’m still a little upset. I don’t like being upset. So, we are playing a game. This is your first day, right? I know you really want this and for it to work you need to make a good job. It’ll be a pity if the recording seems unpolished”. This whole time, she seemed just to be reading her lyrics. Her eyes didn’t move from her notebook page. Needless to say you didn’t know what she meant.

“Um guys, something came up. I gotta go. Send me the track, I’ll check it tonight”. Shinsadong left the studio. 

“Okay, let’s go from the top”. You said to LE. When looking up you saw her staring directly at you. A devilish smile was printed on her face. Confused and a little scared, you played the instrumental.

“Uh, nights got colder after you lef-”. Something was off. You asked LE to stop and so she did. There was some noise going around and you couldn’t find out what was it. After checking everything you found nothing. Still wondering what was that sound, you asked LE to continue. 

“Uh, nights got colder after you left, why is it th-” There it was again. But this time it kept going. It sounded like some sort of interference but louder than it usually is. Looking around to see what could possibly be the cause of it, you found it in the last place you thought you would. 

You looked up and LE was biting her lip. You followed her arm and noticed that it disappeared under her skirt. She was touching herself. What you thought was “interference”, was actually LE clothes’s sound. 

“Oh my God. What are you doing!?

“I told you we were playing a game”

“Are you for real!?

“Hey, it’s not me who needs the job. If you want to have a song by tonight, you better take out all the sounds I’m making”

“You know this is crazy, right?”

“I do. That’s the fun part” She giggled at the end.

“Fine. Wanna play? Let’s play”

You started the recording once again and while she rapped, you tweaked filters in order to take out the sound LE’s hand and her clothes were making. After 15 seconds you stopped her and smiled: “See? I’m that good.” That was your mistake.

Taking it as a challenge, LE stood up and unzipped her skirt. She threw it somewhere on the floor. Sat down, resting her feet on the lower chair support and spread her legs. She put her hand under her red underwear and pulled it aside.  You couldn’t believe what you were seeing. A glass was the only thing that separated you from such a spectacle. Wearing headphones made it all worse because it felt as if she was in your head. 

“Let’s see what you can do with this” LE challenged you. Her fingers went up and down her slit. You could tell how wet she was by the sounds she made when moving. Just to see such a view was enough to make you hard. Listening to the sound her indecent act was making, turned it into torture.

“What is it? You can’t handle this?” LE's voice got breathier.

“No. It isn’t that. I just thought how funny it would be to let those beautiful sounds in. To let everyone know how much of a slut you are”

“Too bad you’ll have no job by then”

Even if you hate to admit it, she was right. You needed this to work. Fixed on making a track that you could send your boss, you sat down once again but responded with an equally powerful attack.

“WHAT ARE Y-” LE yelled.

You took your cock out. You were already rock hard. You stroked it releasing a suffocated growl. “If I’m doing this, I might as well make it fun for myself”.

LE was shocked. But not in a bad way. Her facial expressions told you she just got more aroused. Also, her hand movements became less sporadic and now focused on a single spot. Her panting started to mist the booth’s glass. It made you move your hand faster, matching her pace.

“From the top”. You pressed play, and the red light turned on. LE started rapping and her voice was troubled by her moaning and heavy breathing. You stood up and went into the booth. Once inside you positioned yourself in front of her and without stopping your movements you told her:

“Faster. I need you to go faster”. LE did so. Not only in her now lousy rap but in her motions as well. The little circles her hands were doing were now really small, applying all the pressure on her clit. Her eyes now only looking at yours expressed how far gone she was. You ripped her shirt open, buttons flying all over the floor. 

“Yes, that’s it. Give me your all” You groaned while you commanded her hand and yours to squeeze her breast. Close to your limit, agitated, you told her: 

“Now, for the climax… I need you to go in, go in on it”. 

Clenching her jaw, alternating her sentence with strong exhalations, LE responded: ”You are the producer... take care of it”.

As soon as she spoke those words, in a single action you went into her. Her walls were so hot you seemed to melt inside her. You’d never fucked a pussy so sloppy. Things got messier with every thrust. The sounds you heard earlier were nothing against the sound of you ramming her over and over.

“Fuck” LE shouted. She tightened around you as her whole body clenched. Her head tilted backward, making her chest look even bigger than before. As you felt this, you also let yourself go and released your hot load inside her. You only stopped moving once you got it all out. When backing out, your cum leaked out of LE’s glistened entrance.

Slowly recovering and reincorporating herself onto the chair, LE said while sighing:

“Guess you can’t work on that one. Am I right Producer?”

“Maybe next take will be better… unless you feel like not cooperating again”

“Who knows… I may still need instructions”

[mumbai-local]

The Mirror Shaped Hole in Our Hearts

So this is it, this is where we get off.

There would be no Mumbai Mirror in our palms on weekday mornings, and even though we’d get it on Sundays and it would have a ‘strong digital presence’, we know they’re just ways to say ‘shop’s shutting, go home.’ For something that we spent no more than ten minutes on every day, it’s going to be a tough loss to digest. If you too have a hole in your heart, let me measure it for you.

At arguably one of the peaks of its 15-year life cycle, Mirror, the ‘compact’ daily from the Times Group, would break stories from IPL 2009 in South Africa that would read like nothing filed on the sports pages of The Times of India (TOI). Mirror held this cut-throat exclusivity as a filter for its news every day, across beats, to build a distinct voice for itself. The parent company, Bennett, Coleman and Co. (BCCL), would routinely fly separate correspondents to the same events, whether at Jamaica or Dunedin, and it was also common for the competing correspondents being friends and even sharing hotel rooms while despatching reports. The cumulative impact of TOI and Mumbai Mirror (MM), bundled together for distribution, years after Mirror’s 2005 launch, was a telling blow on competitors, most remarkably Mumbai’s oldest tabloid, Mid-Day.

At arguably another peak, MM had an extensive, snappily designed 16-page edition dedicated to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, put to bed hours after the main edition, which in itself would be of 56 to 64 pages. All this free-flowing newsprint, a continuously expanding market and most importantly, reams of full-page adverts, seems to be an obscene tale from another era.

To think that Mirror, from those highs, faced such a nosedive is ironically like one of the Bombay stories it loved telling. We know the arc well - the rise, the reign, the plot to bring it down, the fall and the end. It’s almost as if the ghosts of all those exclusive stories - of fallen industrialists, flopped film stars and failed society doyens - that Mirror unabashedly broke day on day, plotted this. BCCL attributes this closure to ‘the pandemic, lockdown and unprecedented economic crisis’ but we as Mirror faithfuls, take this as with a sack of salt. 

This seems more of a jettison, and while not much is public as the BCCL empire isn’t a listed company, it’s safe to say the Jains wanted bleeding pets off their green books. There were reports of BCCL facing a consolidated net loss of Rs 451.63 crore in FY 19-20, a bungee jump from the net profits of Rs 484.27 crore in just the previous year.

Net-net, it’s this: Even before the ‘C word’ took the world economy down in 2020, the ‘bad news’ vibe was strong, and it must not have taken Mirror employees, adept at joining the dots while reporting on Bollywood’s love affairs, much time to update their LinkedIn profiles.

Hence, it’s intriguing that the official statement by The Times of India Group on this would mention a thing such as ‘the economy now officially in recession’. I’m no pink paper reader but to think that a behemoth such as the Times, running entities such as Medianet and Brand Equity Treaties and verticals such as Times Internet (which has brands such as Cricbuzz, Gaana and MX Player in its portfolio), is hurting from an ‘import duty adding to newsprint costs’... seems a wee… bit dodgy, much like Mirror’s famed ‘tailpiece’ blind items - you could only speculate the truth. But hey, what I’m sure of is this - that one primetime anchor going by the initials 'RSS’ on the Group’s alleged ‘news’ channel Times NOW, has not even mentioned the word ‘recession’ in a very long time, let alone cover it. 

So to find out why the most profitable media house in the country with annual revenues of $1.5 billion and an average of over 30 per cent returns on investment in previous years did not want to ride out Mirror’s losses, you’d probably require a seasoned Mirror reporter, ideally from its film or crime beats.

But if you have been a reader of The Illustrated Weekly of India, Indrajal Comics or Times Crest, you are again disappointed, not surprised, that the owners have once again pulled the plug, but this time it’s on Bombay’s boldest voice. And no Saamna, you can’t come close.

In just April last year, MM was the only single edition newspaper to be among the top five newspapers in India, quite a feat given its perennial label of being a sibling to the older TOI beast. This younger one, and every younger sibling from Prince Harry to Hardik Pandya will agree, remained feisty, unabashedly self aware and delightfully anti-establishment through its lifetime, owing to the mother who raised it, the venerable Meenal Baghel.

Some credit this to ‘the nature of the beast’ that tabloid culture is - a naked, annoying, indelible aspect of big city life. But we - and by we, I mean those who got to work with Meenal - know that as the handler of this beast, she fed it meatloaf with one hand and held a whip in the other. That’s how the beast grew stronger every day and mauled the mighty.

The beast emboldened us to ask uncomfortable questions of our society and culture, and not in a Republic-reporter-chasing-Rhea’s-car manner, but in a civil, restrained one where Oxford commas and em dashes had pride of place.  

It made photojournalist Sebastian D’Souza jump out his seat next to mine on the night of November 26, 2008, and dart out with his camera when we heard gunshots within metres of us, only to return with this photo.   

It made us have the bravado to pick up the phone and call anyone in the country for an exclusive quote. “I’m XYZ from the Mumbai Mirror,” we’d say, not from The Times of India. 

Mirror broke stories that stirred us in those ten minutes or less. Stories of blacklisted contractors winning road repair contracts using their wives’ names, of unscrupulous builders who’d unflinchingly steal lifetimes’ savings of retired peons, of principals who’d be sacked for exposing sexual harassment scandals, of everything adulterated - milk, water, air.  

Trigger warnings be damned - don’t like, don’t read if you can dare. While TOI and other dailies touched upon the city’s underbelly, Mirror thrived in it. It kept on showing us what’s under that flyover while we glided to work over it - the blood, gore and heartbreak. Wait, it literally did a story this year on cancer patients living under a flyover (and they promptly got help). Of course, there was gloss and fun and those ridiculous non-news about Kareena Kapoor juggling ‘work with motherhood’, but those were just the mixers to the other potent stuff. 

You know what the real loss for Mumbai is, right? That most of these stories just won’t be reported in print. And no corrupt contractor or conniving criminal may lose sleep over a Sunday paper or a publication with ‘strong digital presence’ exposing them.

The other ‘happy to see Mirror go’ could be Bollywood’s A, B and no-listers, who, once upon a time, would get palpitations if they’d see incoming calls from a certain Vickey Lalwani. “Dibakar, give me a story! Give me a sensational story! Mumbai Mirror has circulation of 750,000. Make it exclusive, okay?” 

But I doubt they’d be too happy too - after all, if Mirror’s calling you, you’re hot currency.  

(That said, there is a negligible number of people who are elated to see Mirror go, and they’re fans of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It so happened that on the morning of the launch of the much anticipated last book of the iconic series, Mirror carried a spoiler on its front page. ‘First things first, Harry Lives.’ Ouch. Younger siblings, after all, can also be incredibly cheeky and embarrassing at times. But we cannot do without them.)

In July 2019, I had asked Meenal, the finest editor I will ever work under, about just how she found the energy to run a tabloid compact like this every single day for so many years. “As long as the good days outnumber the bad, I keep going,” she’d replied. It was a fair way to convey how she and her team (me gratefully being a small part of it from 2005 to 2011) worked. We went out to battle every day and slept well every night, and the lakhs of readers, in return, gave us a high. 

Now, when the dreaded ‘last edition’ is probably being wrapped around a vada-pav somewhere in Mumbai, all of us - Meenal, us former colleagues, the readers, the haters, the Mahinder Watsa fan club, everyone - will have our heads held up for knowing that the Mumbai Mirror era indeed had way more good days… well, even bloody good days, than the bad ones.

At least we won’t be shaking our heads and eye-rolling while looking at the front page of that old flagship broadsheet daily.

[idunnoficsorsumthing]

My Point Part 1

Hey ya’ll this part one of the shitty fic I wrote when I was 15. I am reposting all my old fics. Who cares? nobody? okiiiii anyway I could not be bothered by the fact that this fic is written in both first and second person lmao. Sorry, this it the quality of it back in 2017, and that is the quality it will stay in now.

Masterlist 

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You walk to your room when you see Scott pulling himself up, and down, up and down in his bathroom door. “You can do as many pull ups, you still won’t make the lacrosse team.”  you tell him. He completely ignores you. You hear a strange noise on the front porch as you are about to check it out, Scott walks behind you with a baseball bat. “What you doing with that?” i ask, he slowly walks past you and sneakily walks to the porch as you follow him. When Stiles fell down the rain gutter, All of you screamed. “Stiles! what the hell are you doing.” Scott yelled, “You weren’t answering your phone.” Stiles said, you were half laughing. “Hi Angel. “ Stiles said, for a moment before asking Scott.” What are you doing with that Bat?” I take the bat out of Scott’s arm. “I thought you were a predator!” he exclaimed. Stiles was still hanging there upside down.  “A pred-” Stiles started his sentence, but you cut him off. 

“Stiles it’s late what do you want?” you ask him. “I know it’s late but my dad just had a dispatch call they are calling in every sheriff in Beacon Hills and even state police. “ he said, he looked too excited, it must be a murder. Stiles loved those. He loved thinking about ways it could have been done, how to solve it. “for what?’ Scott asked, “ A body.” You said, Stiles looked at you for a moment. “How did you?” he asked, then shook his head. “ Two joggers found a body in the woods.” he explained. You pushed Stiles, and he had to jump in order to land easily. “ A dead body?” Scott asked confused. “No, a body of water.” Stiles said sarcastic. Which made you smile a little. “Yes, Dumb ass ,a dead body” he said, Stiles climbed on the porch. He put his arm around my shoulder to lean on, as we both look at Scott while he is still trying to figure it out. “ You mean like murdered?” Scott asked, “Nobody knows yet. Just that it was a girl probably in her twenties. “ Stiles gave us more details. “Hold on, if they have the body what are they looking for?” Scott asks. “That is the best part, they only found half of it.” Stiles said too excited. But, you smile too you knew what Stiles wanted to do. “We’re going.” he said, he wanted to leave. “No.” Scott said, “You’re not coming with us.” he made a gesture of no after  you begged them if you could come. Stiles couldn’t care less if you came or not. He and Scott were best friends, and you did not always tag along. Almost never really. You never asked if you could except this one time. Sometimes they would ask you to come ,and you would accept. You and Stiles did spend a lot of time talking whenever Stiles was at your house(which he was a lot), you even let him make a spare key. He often came at your place when Scott wasn’t home yet, and then he would talk to you. Help you do stuff like laundry, cooking, homework. Until Scott would come home, then you would bug out. At school, Scott, Stiles, and you did spend a lot of time together. “Pleaasee. Come on. Scott its a DEAD body please.” you begged. “Fine.” Scott said, “But, don’t tell mom.” You made a little scream out of happiness and you started to smile like crazy. “ You two are psycho’s.” Scott said, as he saw that both Stiles, and his sister were over come of joy when they were allowed to investigate the woods late at night in search for a dead part body. 

* Time skip Scott, Stiles, and you were lying on the ground in the forest, looking at the cops with their flashlights. “Hey Stiles.” you said, he turned his head to look at you. “Turn of the light, you idiot.” you hissed at him. He then look at the light, and started fidgeting, and trying to turn it off. When Stiles jumped up, and ran forward. “Stiles.” Scott gasped. As Scott took another puff from his inhaler, you kept up with Scott”s pace as you followed Stiles. “wait up Stiles.” Scott hissed. Stiles looked back to see how we were doing. When he got startled by a big searching dog, and fell to the ground. A man started shouting, until you hear the familiar voice of Stiles dad, and sheriff calming everything down. “This little delinquent belongs to me.” the sheriff told the other man. “Hey dad, how you doing?” Stiles tried to ask casually.  “So, do you always listen to all my phone calls?” Stiles dad asks him. Stiles profoundly shakes his head. “No” he said,” Not the boring ones.”  the sheriff looked into the dark. He couldn’t see me or Scott. “Where is your usual partner in crime?” he asked Stiles. Stiles began to fake chuckle. “Who Scott? Scott’s at home, he wanted to get a good night sleep before practice.” Stiles Lied. “It’s just me, in the woods, alone.”. I couldn’t take it. While Scott hid behind a tree, you walked into the light. “Hello Sheriff.” you said, “Angel? what you doing here? “ The Sheriff asked me: “Did he drag you into this?” while pointing at his son.”You kids should not be looking for dead bodies.” he then continued.  You put you arm around Stiles waist, and leaned on his shoulder. “We weren’t looking for a body Sheriff. We were doing other things when we saw the search light, and we thought we would see what was going on here.”  you said, the sheriff began to laugh. “Nice try, Angel.” he said: “Scott, you out there.” while shinning the flash light in Scott’s direction. “Well, young lady, and man. I’ll walk you to your car.” he said, you let go off Stiles. “Dad, is it that unbelievable I would have a girlfriend?” He asked his dad after a few minutes. His dad looked at his son, and then to me. “A girlfriend, unlikely, that girl, impossible.” he said, while pointing at you. “I can’t believe you dragged her here.” he said: “If Melissa knows about this. Does Scott know?” he kept on walking. “Sheriff, me coming here wasn’t his fault, I begged him to let me come.” I told the sheriff. Stiles wanted to stop me from saying it. “Thanks for trying to take the blame.” Stiles said, when he parked his car in front of your door. “You’re my brothers best friend. “I said simply. you wanted to get out, as Stiles grabbed your arm. “I’m not only Scott’s friend, I’m yours too, and I really appreciate what you did.” he said, you lean back into the and kiss his cheek. “Good night, Stillinski.” 

The next morning, you and your brother biked to school. This jerk opened the car door against Scott’s legs. He walked to my brother. “ Dude, watch the paint job.” he said, you took out the keys of your bike.But, Jackson was already gone to some guy that called for him.  “Dude, watch the paint job.” you imitated Jacksons voice. As you made a small A on his car.  Scott had to laugh so hard. You met up with Scott, and Stiles after classes, you were all sophomores, but, you took AP and Honor classes. You were sitting on a bench at the lacrosse try-outs. You saw the coach talking to Scott, and Stiles sitting on the bench. The new girl that Scott had mentioned just before he went on the field was sitting on the tribune with Lydia Martin. Most popular girl on school ,and Beacon Hills, and Stiles life long crush. You then saw Scott take a ball in the face. When another player was about to throw. The ball was flying across the field, until Scott with lighting speed catches it with the stick. Then he catches another ball, and Stiles starts to cheer. You notice something peculiar, he is catching every ball. He never catched a ball in his life, and all of the sudden he catches them all. Those pulls up must have done something. Then Jacksons steps up, and takes a ball, with full speed Jackson fires the ball at Scott. Scott catches the ball, and everyone including Lydia Martin starts to cheer. * Time Skip The next day at school you decided you would  talk to Allison Argent, the new girl. After Scott told me about his encounter with her at the vet. Even you were curious. At lunch Allison was sitting at a table alone. “Hi, I’m Y/n, but everyone calls me Angel.” you told her. She nodded. “Lydia told me about you, I’m Allison Argent.” she said, You took a bite of your potato salad. “You quite made it, didn’t you. Being taken in by the popular kids in your first week.”  I said, she frowned. “Greenberg told me, that Lydia wanted you to become her friend, because she saw potential in you to become one of the most popular girls in the district.” Allison said,  I smile, ‘I couldn’t care any less for popularity. “  I said, “You were the only one to refuse such an offer from Lydia Martin, she dislikes you.” She said, I sign. “There is more than these four walls, try to remember that.” i told her as I got up, and walked away.

That night you hear the door to your house open. “Scott?” You yell down the stairs. “No, Stiles.” he said, “He’s not here.” I yelled: “ He’s at practice.” you hear steps on the stairs. Then his goofy face in your doorway. “ I know.” he said, you were laying on your stomach doing homework in your doctor who pajamas. You shuffle a bit to the side, and pat on the bed for him to come sit on it. “Shoes off.” I told him. he put off his shoes, and lied down besides me. “What is going on Stilinski?” you ask. he stared at you.”I think Scott might be a werewolf.” he said, your first instinct was to laugh. But, you didn’t say anything for a moment or two. “Angel?” Stiles asked. You nodded.” Yeah totally, did you see his moves at practice, he got this big bite mark so why not.” You said, Stiles signed,”But, where is the prove you just spend hours on printing out.” you said,  He dumped a staple of pages on the bed. “I spent hours trying to find evidence, that you would believe me, and you just believed me.” he said, you had to laugh. You went through some of the pages.  “Stiles we are the only people that know Scott the most. If we think something weird is happening than that is because THERE IS.” you said,  while you laugh. Which made Stiles laugh too. “So how are we going to tell him?” you ask. 

You were reading your book, with your ear buds in, and stiles feet over your lap. He was trying to sleep on three chairs while you were sitting in one of them. He was talking gibberish about stuff you didn’t need to know so you turned up the music. “Have they been here all night?” Lydia’s dad asks your mom. “Them? they have been here all weekend.” She said, Stiles suddenly wakes up. He looks at you. You take out the ear buds. “ You’re very dirty.” I said, he just awkwardly nods. “You get us some food, I’ll go find some coffee.” I said, The next day, Stiles called Scott to his house, when he got to Stiles room, and opened the door he was surprised to see his sister in his best friends bedroom.“Angel what are you doing here?” Scott asked, “We have been up all night, websites, books, we have all this information.” Stiles told Scott, he was being hyper active. “How much adderall have you had today?” Scott asks his best friend. “He has had too much.” I said, I sat down on Stiles’s bed. “Yes, a lot, doesn’t matter okay, just listen.” Stiles said, Scott got a smirk on his face. He threw his bag on Stiles bed, and sits down besides you. “Is this about the dead body?” Scott asked, you shake your head. “They are still questioning people.” You said, “Derek Hale specifically.” Stiles added. He sat on his chair in front of you guys, and held a staple of papers in his hand. “Oh, the guy we saw in the woods the other day.” Scott said, you frown at them. “When where you in the woods?” i ask, Scott hesitated a moment.  "We were looking for my inhaler.“ he said, "anyway.” Stiles continued: “Yes, but that is not the point.” . “What then?” Scott asked. Stiles waited a moment before saying. “ Remember the joke from the other day?” he said, “Not a joke anymore.” the smile on his face, turned serious. As we impatient waited for Scott’s reaction. “The wolf, the bite in the woods, I started doing all this research.” he said, “Do you know why a wolf howls?” he then asked, looking from Scott to me and then back at Scott. “Should I?” he asked, Stiles stood up. “It’s a signal Scott.” you said before Stiles got the chance. “When a wolf’s alone, it howls to signal its location to the rest of the pack.”  Stiles explained in more detail. “So if you heard a wolf howl, that means others could have been nearby.” he said, “Maybe a whole pack, that could be somewhere between 10 and 20.” you added to Stiles speech. “A whole pack of wolves?” Scott asked, you shook your head. You met Stiles eyes, and nodded that he needed to tell him. “No Werewolves.” he said, Scott was silent, he shook his head around looking from me to Stiles, from me to Stiles. “Are you seriously wasting my time with this? he said with a louder voice. "You know I’m picking up Allison in an hour.” he picked up his bag. “Scott, We are not joking.” I tell him. “Angel, I can’t believe you are actually believing this stuff.” He told you. “Scott, you’re acting strange you have been the whole week, you haven’t used your inhaler once.” I tell him, as I too stand up, not that it made much difference I was shorter than both Scott, and Stiles anyway. “I saw you on the field today,Scott. What you did wasn’t just amazing.All right, it was impossible.” he said, Scott rolled his eyes. “ Yeah, so I made a good shot.” Scott said, Scott was about to leave. “No you made an incredible shot. I mean your speed, your reflexes.” he said, while putting Scott’s bag down on the bed. “People can’t do that overnight, Scott.” you tell him. “ You’re vision and the senses.” Scott raised his eye brow at you. “Stiles told you about that?’ Scott asked. You nodded. "I can’t think about this right now!” Scott said, “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”  "No, we are talking about it now.“ you said, Scott gave you a glare. ” The full moon is tonight, Don’t you get it?“ Stiles tried to warn him. "What are you trying to do? I just made first line. I got a date with a girl who I can’t believe  wants to go out with me. Everything in my life is somehow perfect. Why are you trying to ruin it?” Scott yelled at Stiles. “ We are trying to help you.” Stiles told him. “You’re cursed Scott.” You shake your head. “Not cursed. Being a werewolf is going to be so cool.” I said, with my geeky undertone. Stiles, and Scott look at you for a moment. “Anyway, it’s not just the full moon will cause you to physically change. I will also happen when your blood lust will be at it’s peak.” Stiles said, Scott looked confused. “Blood lust?” Scott asked. “Yeah, your urge to kill.” I said, “I’m already feeling an urge to kill, you and Angel.” he said, while glaring at you. “You gotta hear this.”  Stiles said as he turned to his computer, he was searching for something. You picked up a book that was on his desk. “Stiles.” you said, he turned to you, and he grabbed the book out of your hand. “The change can be caused by anger or anything that raises your pulse. ” he said, “I haven’t seen anything raise your pulse as much as Allison does.” he said, I could how angry Scott was. Stiles went over the line. He stood up, and went to Scott’s back as he was fidgeting, trying to get Scott’s phone. “I’m cancelling your date.” he said, he held the phone in his hand. But, Scott pushed Stiles to the wall, While with his left hand he held Stiles to the wall, and with the other he raised his hand.“ You’re going to give it to me.” He said, his voice sounded different.  "Scott!“ you screamed. You pull at the arm that was pushing Stiles against the wall. Scott looked at the fist he raised at his best friend. He let out an roar, he let go of Stiles, and slammed Stiles chair. Scott breathed heavily as he spit out an apology to Stiles. "I gotta get ready for that party.” he stammered. He took his back, he waited at the door, as Stiles standing completely overwhelmed against the wall, Scott looked at him. “I’m sorry.” he said, as he walked out the door. Stiles put his head back, and it made a hollow sound against the wall. “Stile-” i was trying to say. he moved to pick up his chair. When you both saw the claw marks on the back of the chair. You didn’t say anything, you just gave each other a glance. “Pick me up at 8.” you told Stiles. He looked confused. “We have a party to go to.” you told him, as you walked out the door.

You walked down the stairs, with a party worthy outfit. “Where you going young lady?” you hear a voice.

[mrlnsfrt]

Behaving Wisely

David has slain the giant that seemed unbeatable. The Israelite has won a great victory. (for more read The Battle Belongs to the LORD)

Was David lucky?

Is it possible for him to maintain his winning streak?

"So keep the words of this covenant to do them, that you may prosper in all that you do."  -- Deuteronomy 29:9 New American Standard Bible

Let’s continue to read the story of David and see what happens next.

Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt. - 1 Samuel 18:1-4 NKJV

David and Jonathan have a lot in common. They were both courageous and capable young warriors who had great faith in the Lord. Both had also initiated attacks against the Philistines against terrible odds that lead to great victories for Israel. (Bergen, Robert D. The New American Commentary. Broadman & Holman, 1996. p199) (for more on Jonathan’s victory read A Mighty Minority)

The fact that Jonathan gives David the clothes and weapons originally reserved for the heir to Saul’s throne is worth noting. Especially when you combine it with the fact that David was offered the king’s clothing during the battle (1 Samuel 17:38, see also The Battle Belongs to the LORD) These details are rich in symbolic and thematic significance, we see that David is well on his way to becoming the next king of Israel. Though Saul is king and Jonathan is the crown prince, David’s experiences point to the exceptional future God has in store for him.

At this point, Saul decided to keep David with him and not allow him to go home to his father’s house anymore, and Jonathan also loves David. Things are going well for David he is being honored and elevated by the royal family. David goes wherever Saul sends him and he is successful.

Success

Whatever Saul asked David to do, David did it successfully. So Saul made him a commander over the men of war, an appointment that was welcomed by the people and Saul’s officers alike. - 1 Samuel 18:5 NLT

If you click on 1 Samuel 18:5 it will take you to a page with several different translations and you will notice that some describe David as acting wisely, and some describe him as being successful. So which one is the best translation? Yes. What if the writer meant exactly what he wrote, that David behaved wisely and was successful. Sure in English we have two different words for this idea, but in the Hebrew mind, the two ideas seem to be mingled into one. Behaving wisely is success, prosperity and wisdom are intermingled. Even more interesting is how the same root שָׂכַל (sakal) is found in Deuteronomy 29:9.

Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do. - Deuteronomy 29:9 NKJV

Essentially God provided us with the key to success, a strong loving relationship with Him. The covenant was in essence for us to not turn after any other Gods. The 10 commandments give us the core of God’s covenant, those are His plans for our lives, those are His guidelines for us to prosper in all that we do. He gives us success. The 10 commandments in essence protect us from leaving our relationship with God. They keep us from shooting ourselves in the foot. In the story of Saul and David we see one man, Saul, turn from God and lose everything while another man, David, remains faithful to God and gains everything.

This does not mean that obedience buys you immunity or salvation. Those are gifts from God. Life is still tough for David, as we will see, but he keeps succeeding because he always humbles himself before God. This will become clearer as we study the biblical account of the life of David in its entirety. But even here, at the beginning of David’s rise, we see evidence of God’s blessings and of David’s love for God.

What I take away from this is that the way to success will never go against the will of God for my life as expressed in the 10 commandments. If I am being pressured to go against God’s expressed will it will not lead to success, but rather to failure. Also, it is important to define success here as the ultimate success in life, not just the acquisition of money or power or both. Money and power can be a curse in the life of those who have sacrificed their relationship with God for the things this world has to offer.

Challenges that follow success

Sometimes a quiet meaningful life is more enjoyable than a life of fame and power. When the armies returned victorious from the battle the women were singing about the heroes and their victories. They sang about how “Saul had slain his thousands,” this was nice, Saul liked listening to this. We don’t have a record of the whole song, we also have no idea what the melody was like. However, we do have the record of one more line from this song and it went like this: “And David [has slain] his ten thousands.” (1 Samuel 18:7)

It’s fine to be wise, to be successful, but being more successful than the king is bad for your health.

Saul notices that David is well on his way to becoming king. He is popular with the people and the court. Surely Saul was reminded of the words of Samuel found in 1 Samuel 15:28.

So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. - 1 Samuel 15:28 NKJV

I believe this is why the story continues in this way

Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” So Saul eyed David from that day forward. - 1 Samuel 18:8-9 NKJV

Saul eyed David

From this point on Saul sees David as a threat. 1 Samuel 18:9 (link to different translations) is a bit awkward to translate to English but when you read the different ways its translated you get the idea of what it means to “eye” someone or to be “eyed” by someone. Saul was watching David closely, looking for an opportunity to rid himself of this threat.

David meanwhile, continues to serve king Saul faithfully. When Saul was being tormented by a distressing spirit and David came to play for him Saul threw a spear at David, twice (1 Samuel 18:11)! This means that David came back to play the hard a second time after Saul had tried to kill him! This shows that David was faithful and willing to help Saul even if it meant putting his life on the line. This also shows that music is not a sure-fire way to deal with people struggling with evil spirits. (for more on that checkout Mental Health, Music and the Bible) It is also worth noting that Saul being armed with a spear against David associates him with Goliath (1 Samuel 17:7) not to mention that Saul was also very tall (1 Samuel 9:1-2).

Fear

Although Saul a powerful king and is armed with a spear, he is afraid of David who is an unarmed nobody.

Now Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, but had departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them. - 1 Samuel 18:12-16 NKJV (bold mine)

David continues to have success. David behaves wisely and prospers in everything he does (Deuteronomy 29:9). Saul is afraid because he realizes that the LORD was with David. Just as Goliath was unable to destroy David, Saul too realizes he is no match for him. Saul decides to change tactics.

Royal Wedding!

Saul realized he would not be able to kill David with his own hands, or at least he realized he shouldn’t since David was becoming so popular. Saul decided to let his enemies take care of David.

Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” - 1 Samuel 18:17 NKJV

Saul figured the more often David was involved in battles against the philistines the greater the chances of him dying in battle. That way David can die a hero at the hand of the Philistines and Saul can be rid of a “problem.” David agreed to fight the LORD’s battles. David would likely have agreed to fight even if there wasn’t the promise of marriage to the princess. This could also have been interpreted as taking the place of the dowry, like when Jacob offered to work as a way of paying the price for his wife (Genesis 29:15-19 for more read Rules of Engagement).

However, when it came time to it, Saul gave his oldest daughter to someone else. Maybe he feared giving David even more power and influence seeing he refused to die. Saul should have given David his daughter because David killed Goliath ( 1 Samuel 17:25), but Saul keeps adding details and clauses to the fine print of his promises.

Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. So Saul said, “I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall be my son-in-law today.” - 1 Samuel 18:20-21 NKJV

David is incredibly humble. This could be due to Saul being king and having come from a wealthy family. David however was the youngest son in his family, he was a bumble shepherd and his genealogy was not pure, since one of his ancestors had been a Moabite (Ruth 4:13-17).

It is interesting to notice the word choice of Saul here. Michal was to be a “snare” to David. This same word is used in the Torah to describe the dangers of idols and idol worshipers (Exodus 23:33;34:12; Deuteronomy 7:16) Perhaps Saul was aware of his daughter’s idolatrous inclinations ( 1 Samuel 19:13) and how if she could lead David astray then he would surely fall at the hand of the Philistines.

Similarly to how David had heard by word of mouth about the rewards offered to whoever killed Goliath, David now heard that Saul was willing to make him his son-in-law. Saul asks for 100 Philistine foreskins as a way of taking vengeance on the enemies of Saul. David is so willing that he gets Saul 200 foreskins. Saul then has no option but to give David his daughter.

Now David was part of the royal family, even closer to the throne. Saul became even more afraid of David and decided to be his enemy continually. But David continues to prosper.

Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed. - 1 Samuel 18:29 NKJV (bold mine)

David is faithful to God, God is with him, granting him wisdom and success. For me, the lesson is clear, be faithful to God, receive His wisdom, and prosper, regardless of who is against you.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. - Proverbs 9:10 NKJV

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. - James 1:5 NKJV

[embcldens]

。· . ˙ ☀ ⌈ addison rae + cis female + she/her ⌋ yo , have you meet that POGUE , finley bauer , yet ? — no ? well , to give you a little heads up before you do , they’re a TWENTY year old , ZOOLOGY COLLEGE STUDENT & N.E.S.T VOLUNTEER , and have been living in coston for EIGHT YEARS . since i’ve known them , they’ve reminded me of FRECKLES DUSTED ACROSS THE BRIDGE OF YOUR SUNKISSED NOSE , TOUSLED SEA SALT HAIR , A BRIGHT SMILE ETCHED ACROSS YOUR LIPS THAT COULD GIVE THE SUN A RUN FOR ITS MONEY , BEFRIENDING EVERY ANIMAL YOU COME ACROSS , NIGHTS SPENT UNDERNEATH THE CLEAR STAR FILLED SKY & THE SUNS WARMTH AGAINST YOUR SKIN . usually they’re quite EFFLUGENT & DRIVEN but just make sure you keep an eye out for them around town because i heard can be quite CRITICAL & FERVID as well so here’s hoping they aren’t the ones to undo this whole peace pact they have going on this summer . but just between you & me , i kinda hope it all falls apart . the rivalry keeps this whole boring town interesting .

hello , hello , hello !! i’m bronny ( the admin ) , i’m 23 , i’m from new zealand & to say that i’m excited about opening this place back up again & being able to write my lil sunshine girl finley again would be an UNDERSTATMENT !!!  i won’t ramble on about me though bc this intro turned out far longer than i meant it to ( is anyone surprise ? no ... just like finley i too ramble on forever for 0 reason ) so without further ado ... here is finley raegan bauer !!

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BACKGROUND

from the moment finley bauer was born , animals have been at the epicentre of her life . you see , finley bauer was born on march 25th 2000 in durban , south africa to charlotte and ragnar bauer . both of who have dedicated their lives to researching , rehabilitating & preserving the wildlife of africa . charlotte bauer worked for a rehabilitation centre for turtles & ragnar bauer worked as a ranger in kruger national park . so it was no surprise that finley followed in both of their footsteps when it came to their love of animals . animals to finley , no matter how big or small , were ( and still are ) the most special and precious creatures in the world and should be looked after no matter what . it was the first thing she ever really understood and the first thing her parents taught her .

throughout her childhood , finley lived a life many may have envied for one reason or another . for the most part , she had lived with her mother in st lucia where she spent the majority of her free time with her mother at the turtle sanctuary she worked at learning and helping in any way she could . but once the school holidays rolled around … finley traveled the 5 hour journey up to kruger national park to spend the weeks with her father . those , if she was being honest , were her favourite moments of all time . she was only quite young but her father allowed her to not only go on tour after tour with him but she was even allowed to witness some of the most heart warming scenes of the rehabilitation of many animals that had been injured by poachers . it was moments like that , that really cemented in her from an early age about what she wanted to do in life . all she wanted was to be able to help animals in the way her parents did and there was nothing that was going to stop her and becoming a wildlife vet was exactly how she was going to do it .

but at the age of twelve , finley’s life was moved half way across the world due to her mother getting a new job — one in her home town of coston , north carolina . if finley had it her way , she would have stayed with her dad . moving from sous africa , her home , was the last thing she wanted to do but both her parents agreed that kruger national park wasn’t the best place to raise a child so finley swapped her life in south africa for one in coston , north carolina in the united states .

it was an adjustment to say the least . moving to a new town was hard enough to begin with but throw in a small town where everybody knows everybody & a slightly odd pre-teen with a different accent and it makes it even harder . but finley tried to make the best out of a not so great situation , after all if there was one thing that finley bauer was it was adaptable . her parents always thought she was one of the most laidback energetic kids they’d ever known . she had that seemed to last for hours on end and was open to just about anything in the world — something of which they said was a blessing and a curse because adaptable may be something finley is but trouble would have to be the word that describes her perfectly . no matter what , trouble seemed to find her and she seemed to find trouble . which may have been one reason why it wasn’t all that long before finley fell in step with the pogues like she’d been there from the beginning . south africa may always be home to finley but coston quickly became one of her favourite places in the world once she started to settle in .

not much changed throughout her teen years . she was still getting up to mischief , still exploring the world around her and most importantly , still working towards becoming a wildlife vet . not once did the promise she made to her father when she was only 6 years old waiver . it was just about the only thing she took deadly serious in her life . between studying and signing herself up for beach cleans , volunteering for N.E.S.T every year when it came to laying and hatching season , advocating for not only animal rights but human rights as well , it was any wonder that she did find time to be dragged into pogue shenanigans . but somehow she did because the pogues quickly became like a second family to her . she would do anything for any one of them .

which was why once college came around finley found it so hard to leave . she’d thought leaving south africa was hard , but leaving coston and the pogues behind for college ? she had never remembered crying so hard . all she could do was remind herself that this was what she wanted . she wanted to go to college . she wanted to study zoology so she could get into veterinary school . because without it , her dream of helping save wildlife would never come true . plus , it wasn’t like she’d never see them again . she’d only applied for a college on the main land that had an outstanding reputation in science fields , which meant her friends and mum were only a ferry ride away from her if she ever got homesick . it was almost like she’d never left .

PERSONALITY & EXTRAS

a pogue but could also cross over into kook territory if she REALLY wanted to , but this just in : she doesn’t want to . she , her mum and her mum’s boyfriend who’s been living with them for the past 6 years all live on the outskirts of town in a nice little comfortable 2 story home . the bauer family is nowhere near struggling but they’re nowhere near able to live in figure 8 .

a literal ball of energy . has a hard time keeping still . you’ll catch her leg bouncing if she sits for longer than 5 minutes but it’s fine !! give her a little prod and she’ll give you a lil sheepish smile before quitting it …… until about 3 seconds later

v bubbly v friendly . will talk to just about anyone if they don’t give off dodgy vibes . basically just a lil ray of sunshine .

one of the most laidback people you’ll meet . planning isn’t really her thing , she’s a go with the flow kinda gal !! has been caught saying , it’ll be right far too many times in her life even when things have in fact not been right in the end .

will give just about anything a go . believes that an oops is better than a what if . which is exactly why she’s gotten in trouble more times than anyone can count .

loyal to a fault !! will have the back of anyone she loves till she dies . once you have finley on your side , there’s no getting rid of her . she’d kill for the people she loved .

i say she’d kill for the people she loved …. but she really is more on the pacifistic side of things . but at the end of the day , she would fight someone if that was the only thing left to do . she’s kind up to a point . she’s friendly up to a point . she’s helpful up to a point . she’s no doormat that people can walk over .

not that one may ever think that finley bauer was a doormat . because she ? she can be loud ! she can make her opinion heard ! if she doesn’t like something , she’ll say it outright . she can have a real mouth on her .

you’d think she’d be vegan but …. no . the only thing she doesn’t eat is red meat but everything else ? she calls it her personal downfall . but she does try to keep her meat intake down to a minimum . she just has a weakness for seafood okay , no one is more sorry than her . she’ll only eat it if it’s sustainably sourced though so that’s 1 thing

wears a necklace 24/7 that has an elephant pendant that she got from her father for her 10th birthday .

has a big cats paw print ribcage tattoo on her left side ( this position but ... a paw print )

judges people on how they treat animals and how animals react to them . she will immediately distrust you if you don’t like animals .

has an australian shepherd called rafi aka rafiki  ( originally was named scout but she wasn’t having that ) when he was only 2 and she 15

wants to eventually specialise in big cats ( lions , cheetahs , etc. ) or elephants but she has MANY years to figure that out

will watch every nature / wildlife documentary in the world even though she knows they’ll make her cry like a little baby 

is fluent in afrikaans but since limited people in the world actually speak it she .... only sometimes speaks it with her family  

has a south african accent ( example )

CONNECTIONS

to keep this from being any longer , you can find my wanted connections page here & my wanted connections tag here !!

alrighty , that’s it !! if you made it all the way through that ... you’re a real one bc PHEW it got long . i cannot wait to get to plotting with you all so pls , if anything catches your eye and you wanna plot ? just hit that lil heart & i’ll come crawling otherwise just slide on into my dms on here or on discord ( which i kind prefer if we’re being honest here ) !!

[luckylq42-blog]

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[mostweakhamlets]

Fic prompt: Warlock tracks down Aziraphale’s bookshop and swings by.

Thank you so much! This was much longer than I expected it to be, and it took a turn I wasn’t expecting. 

Warlock was always curious about what happened to his nanny and the family’s gardener. They had left only a week apart--first, the gardener and then Nanny Ashtoreth--and had always seemed… close. 

It took a year after they left for him to realize that they were weird. It took a year’s worth of odd looks by his parents when he mentioned “sister slug” or when he casually brought up nanny’s lullaby. It took a year’s worth of therapist appointments his mother made him go to. 

They were weird. 

But he still remembered them fondly. 

By the time he was 15, he was too curious to not do anything about it anymore. He searched high and low for Nanny Ashtoreth’s presence anywhere online. There was no resume, no LinkedIn, no business number, not even any social media. He moved on to sneaking into his father’s office in the middle of the night, rifling through drawers and filing cabinets to try to find any shred of evidence that Nanny Ashtoreth or Brother Francis even worked there. But there was nothing. No contracts, no business cards, nothing. 

Warlock had began to wonder if he had hallucinated the entire thing. But how could he make up Nanny rocking him to sleep and tucking him into bed? Or Brother Francis showing him a deer that had wandered into the garden early one morning, both of them holding their breath so as not to startle it? 

How could he make up the morning Nanny left? When she hugged him and told him to be whomever he wanted to be? She had wiped his tears by the front door because he cried so hard. She was never necessarily tender, but that morning she was cupping his face and whispering to him. She had also promised, though it turned out to be a lie as far as he knew, that she would see him again.

Warlock grew from being curious to bitter. His teenage angst increased with the mystery and the feeling of abandonment. 

Most of his childhood, he realized after more thought, was weird. His eleventh birthday was weird, though he enjoyed it. And not long after that there was the weird weather and news stories coming from England while his family was abroad. And what was with that weird guy that smelled like poo? No one talked about the summer of 2018 often. It was something that most people wanted to put behind them because it was… weird. 

Warlock decided to start embracing weird to find weird and fell down a deep rabbit hole. 

There was a magazine. New Aquarian. It had gone out of business for a few years but began publishing new issues online in 2018. Warlock read through the conspiracy theories of the 2018 apocalypse, the reports of people seeing aliens, the articles detailing the M25’s fire. There were interviews from people who claimed that their homes had been destroyed but suddenly repaired themselves when they woke up one Sunday morning. Everyone talked about that one Sunday morning. 

There were two interviews from Soho that Warlock poured over. The first was of a woman who seemed fairly normal for being in that magazine, but Warlock thought that maybe the reporters were the only ones who would listen to her. 

She worked across from an old bookshop--a very old bookshop, she specified. It had caught on fire, which was a tragedy since it had been there for over two hundred years, and she had watched as it burned down. The owner wasn’t there, fortunately. But then a man appeared in sunglasses (which didn’t appear out of the ordinary at first) and walked right in despite the firemen telling him to stay out. When he came back out, she swore his eyes were different. She swore they were yellow with slits instead of pupils. No one else seemed to notice but her. He drove away so fast there was no time for anyone to. Maybe it was contacts, she had pointed out, maybe it was part of a costume. 

The next day, the bookshop was fine. It looked just as it had for the past two centuries. She watched the owner stop outside in the street, looking up at it. She had described him as a polite man that always wore a pale suit with white hair, though he didn’t seem to be quite old enough to have such white hair. She had met him only a few times. She had wanted to see him that Sunday. She almost walked out to meet him in the street, but she thought better of it. 

“This poor man lost his entire shop--his entire home--and then it was there again with no explanation. I thought maybe he needed some time alone. Heavens know I would.” 

She said that everything went back to normal after that. The bookshop returned to its normal hours (as normal as they had been, she supposed). Business went on as usual. 

The second interview was about the same bookshop. The interviewee seemed more appropriate for the magazine. He talked about how he had been in the shop before, how the owner was polite but somehow not pleasant, how he seemed old and had worked there for years but never seemed to age past his mid-to-late 40s. 

The man fixated on the 0wner for a while. Warlock didn’t care. A lot of people aged well. A lot of people were eccentric. Then, he fixated on this man that was always in the shop. He always wore sunglasses. Looked the same age as the owner and didn’t age, either. Dressed equally eccentrically but in black with flaming red hair. 

But the man started talking about the fire as well. How he came by after the fire was out, looked at the charred sign that had read “A.Z Fell & Co.,” stood by the crowd who shook their heads in sympathy. The owner wasn’t anywhere to be found. Rumors were beginning to go around. There were other fires through London that no one could explain, but some people wondered if the owner had burned the shop himself for the insurance money. Since the owner came back the next day when it was magically repaired, the interviewee doubted it was an insurance scheme. 

He blamed supernatural beings. Warlock ignored that part. 

Warlock printed out the articles. He felt like a conspiracy theorist himself, underlining and highlighting anything that he thought looked important. He made notes and found the address and phone number of the shop. This was, to be fair, done mostly out of procrastination. He had a mountain of homework to do that weekend, but his research was more fun. And he supposed that any research would lead him somewhere--maybe not to find his nanny, but to put together some sort of logic for what happened four years ago. 

It was approaching early morning. His eyes itched. He thought about calling it a night and curling into bed. There wasn’t much left for him to do besides hang up his notes on the wall and connect them with red string. 

He used blue highlighter for the descriptions of the shop owner and his friend. He circled the line about yellow eyes and made a note: “what does this mean?” Were his irises yellow? Did he just have jaundice? Maybe he had light eyes, and the flames were just reflecting off of them. Maybe he had green eyes and the lady was colorblind. And the slits could be anything. Warlock had a friend who had a pupil that dipped into her iris. David Bowie had one large pupil. 

Warlock used his colored pencils to doodle in the margins of the paper after he listed every possibility. He drew eyes with pupils that slipped down to the bottom of the iris. He drew irises that were pale green, very light hazel, and green with flecks of hazel. He drew little martians in the corner that were beaming cows up into the spaceships. 

After his martian break, he went back to his laptop. He closed out the directions to the bookshop and pulled up a new window for fresh research. He typed in: “slit pupils.” There had to be a medical condition for it. 

Warlock scrolled through a page of pictures of cats and the burst pupils he had seen in his friend. Then, he froze. 

Among the pictures from medical websites and cat blogs, there was one of a snake with a bright yellow eye and a long, thin pupil. 

He had seen snakes before. Obviously. But none with yellow eyes (snakes at the zoo always had muddy brown or red eyes) and not when he was trying to imagine them on a person. 

He leaned back in his chair. He could perfectly imagine the snake’s eyes on a human face, framed by red hair. Red curls, specifically. It seemed almost familiar. 

Whatever. He was just tired. 

Turning off the lights and shutting his laptop, he crawled into bed. It was silly. The interviewees probably just missed renovations. The fire probably wasn’t as bad as they thought. If it was an old shop, it must have some sort of recognition and protection by the city. They probably had people come by as soon it was over to start replacing the sign and windows and door. The inside could still be burned for all anyone knew. Maybe that was why the owner came back the very next day. 

The familiarity of the eyes had to have a logical explanation as well. There was probably a movie with an actor with red hair that had snake eyes. A horror movie or something. That had to be it because the more Warlock thought about it as he began to fall asleep, the more he could make out a woman’s face. Her jaw was square. Her cheekbones were sharp. Her hair was styled and perfect, curls resting across her forehead. She was middle-aged, and Warlock could only imagine her in a modest black outfit. 

Warlock’s chest tightened. He sat up, turned the lights back on, sat back down at his desk. 

He could remember, somewhere deep in the farthest reaches of his memory, being five and sitting on Nanny’s lap in the garden. They were roughhousing, as they often did. He had squirmed too much as she grabbed him in a ticklish spot. He was laughing when she fell back into the grass, taking him with her. Her hat fell off. And so did her sunglasses. They slid down her nose and one stem fell off her ear. 

He had stared at her eyes for the brief few seconds she was too flustered to compose herself. They were yellow and here pupils belonged to an animal, not a human. She quickly closed her eyes and righted her glasses. 

“Nanny--”

“I think it’s time to go inside now.” 

He had never brought it up again. He had forgotten about it by that evening, his childish mind moving on to something more exciting. 

Warlock wrote a note to his parents: “Ground me when I get back. I’m going to Soho.”

He called an Uber and ate a couple handfuls of cereal as the sun was rising, too shaken (and perhaps excited) to be tired at 7 am. He gave the driver the address and five stars 20 minutes later when he stepped out of the car. 

He read the sign on the front door, shaking his head at the absurd description of hours. It seemed the only way to know if they were open was to check if the door was locked. 

“Young man, I’m terribly sorry, but we’re not quite ready for customers yet--”

The owner stood behind the front counter. He was everything the articles described him as. White hair, maybe in his 40s, pale suit. But he stared at Warlock, then, he smiled. 

“Actually, I suppose it might be time to open,” he said. “How can I help you?” 

Warlock walked forward, running a nervous hand through his long hair. “I don’t know.”

He looked so familiar. 

“I think I’m looking for someone,” Warlock said. “Or maybe a couple people.”

The owner wrung his hands together and looked ready to speak before a voice cut him off. 

“Is someone actually here at 8 in the bloody morning?” 

The man in sunglasses stepped out from the back room. His hands were shoved in his black jacket--not the only black item of his ensemble. When he looked at Warlock, he didn’t react for a few seconds. Then, he stopped and stared just as the owner had. 

“He’s looking for someone,” the owner said with a tight smile. “He appears to be lost.” 

The man in the sunglasses didn’t say anything. The owner recovered. 

“We can call your parents, young man,” he said, picking up the receiver of vintage phone. “Tell them they can meet you here.”

“I’m not looking for my parents,” Warlock said. He made eye contact with the sunglasses. He nearly shivered thinking about what could be behind the dark lenses. “I’m actually looking for… my nanny.”

“Well, we can call her. It makes no difference.”

Warlock didn’t say anything. The owner sighed and put the receiver down. 

“What’s your name, kid?” Sunglasses asked. 

“Warlock Dowling.” 

The owner shook his head at Sunglasses. 

Sunglasses took a few more steps forward. He was tall, but Warlock had grown to reach his chin--his square chin that was a painful giveaway with the sharp cheekbones. 

“I can’t imagine your parents are happy that you’re here on your own,” he said. “Soho isn’t the place for kids to run around by themselves.”

That wasn’t true by any means. The parents part, maybe. But Soho was perfectly safe. 

Warlock stood his ground. “I’m just looking for my nanny. Their name is Ashtoreth. Or that was at least their name.”

Sunglasses smirked. He looked back to the owner who gave him a disapproving look. 

Warlock’s heart pounded. 

“I heard weird things have happened here a few years ago,” he said, trying to soldier on. 

“Weird things happened everywhere a few years ago,” Sunglasses said. 

“But… weirder things happened here. And I had a weird nanny.” Warlock took a deep breath. “And I read this article that there was a man here that some lady saw with yellow eyes.”

Sunglasses paled. The owner stepped out from behind the counter. 

“And I think that my nanny also had yellow eyes,” Warlock said. “And I think you might have been my nanny. I just want to know what’s going on.”

“I really think it might be time to call someone to collect you,” the owner said. 

“Stop it, Aziraphale,” Sunglasses snapped. 

Sunglasses took Warlock by the shoulder and lead him to the back room. Aziraphale trailed behind them. 

“Have a seat,” Sunglasses said. 

Warlock sat on the only sofa there. Sunglasses paced. 

“Alright,” Sunglasses said. He turned to Aziraphale. “Can we wipe his memories?” 

“Wipe his memories, Crowley?”

“Yeah.”

“No! Not from 10 years ago! You should have distracted him when it happened. And who is this other person?” 

“Look, I won’t tell anyone,” Warlock said, beginning to think that he had made a mistake because maybe people with snake eyes and snake face tattoos that went by Crowley weren’t the nicest. “You don’t have to fight about it. It’s not a big deal.”

“We’re not fighting, my dear,” Crowley said. 

My dear. Warlock hadn’t heard that since he was a kid. 

“And this is a big deal,” Aziraphale said. 

Crowley sat next to Warlock. 

“Here’s the deal.” He made a face. “I was your nanny when you were a boy--”

“Crowley.”

“And I was there when you turned 11. It’s a very, very long story. We dragged you into something you didn’t need to be involved in, and as soon as we could we got you out. You wouldn’t understand any of it.” 

“But I can try.” 

Crowley sighed. “There are things that you shouldn’t be involved with. It’s better to not know anything.”

Warlock shook his head. “I want to know. Something happened when I was a kid and something happened in 2018. I think I deserve to know about it all.”

Crowley looked at Aziraphale. Warlock crossed his arms. 

“I know that this shop burned down one day, and I know that you were here, and I know that someone saw that you have snake eyes, and I know that the next day everything was fine. I also know that when I was five, I saw you without your dumb sunglasses on and you--”

Crowley pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head. Warlock felt like ice water had been dumped over him. 

“We can talk,” Crowley said, “as long as you swear none of this gets repeated.”

Warlock nodded. 

“And as long as you don’t call my sunglasses dumb again.”